The Christmas season in Ames officially started the night of Nov. 19 when downtown lit up with “Celebrate Main Street Magic.”

The evening’s festivities began with the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus to Main Street, said Letitia Hansen, promotions committee coordinator for the Ames Main Street District.

Santa and Mrs. Claus arrived by fire truck and proceeded to Tom Evans Park, where they met with Ames Mayor Ted Tedesco, and then the lights were flipped on, Hansen said. Later during the evening, Santa went down to the Octagon Center, where children lined up to tell him their Christmas wish lists.

Other attractions included live window displays at many Main Street stores and performers in the street, she said.

In the street there were carolers from the Ames Choral Society, the Ames Chamber Singers and Good Company. The members of ACTORS Theater also performed at Tom Evans Park and did excerpts from their upcoming shows, Hansen said.

There also was a reindeer ring toss, a family “I Spy” scavenger hunt, and Clear 96.1 broadcasted throughout the evening, Hansen said.

Two warming stations set up downtown offered cookies and cocoa. The Youth and Shelter Services warming station also had a magician and Silly Sally the clown.

The activities on Nov. 19 were the kickoff for the Main Street District’s open house weekend, Hansen said.

“Downtown always has their open house weekend [the week] before Thanksgiving. Stores will usually have their own events [during the weekend],” she said.

Hansen said one of the biggest attractions of the night was the live window displays in Main Street businesses.

Dave Durlam, president-elect of the Ames Main Street District and co-owner of Durlam and Durlam Men’s & Women’s Clothing, said “Celebrate Main Street Magic” provides a great Christmas atmosphere.

“Downtown has a comfortable atmosphere, and there’s some history down here that really lends itself to that old-time Christmas feeling,” he said. “It’s just a fun place to be, and when they light the skylights on the buildings, that’s really an exciting moment; it really brightens it up down here.”

Hansen said the festivities help get people in the Christmas spirit.

“There’s not a pressure to buy,” she said. “It’s just to see what the stores have for Christmas and to get in the Christmas spirit. It brings a small-town feeling when it’s in the smaller area.”

“It’s really the focal point of Christmas in Ames,” Durlam said.

Hansen said the district and business owners tried to get more students involved with the festivities this year.

“We usually get a really good crowd,” she said. “It’s a good place to shop, [there’s] good customer service and there [are] specialty stores you can’t find at the mall.”

Durlam said the Main Street District has sponsored Christmas activities for many years.

“This is probably the 10th year of the lighting of downtown,” he said. “We’ve been doing group promotions down here for years, but the last five or six years have been really spectacular with the lighting.”

Until Christmas, the Main Street District will be open on Sundays, and starting Monday, it will be open evenings until 8 p.m.

“Celebrate Main Street Magic” festivities are sponsored by the promotions committee for the Ames Main Street District, which is made up of downtown merchants.