KELLOGG — The village at Silver Mountain was filled with laughter and good cheer as families and friends gathered around to drink hot cocoa, eat cookies and tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas after he helped light up the Christmas tree.

Noah’s Canteen provided free hot chocolate, and recently opened business Grocery Outlet handed out free cookies to the cheerful crowd.

Local vendors like Soul Essentials, A Bakery and GG’s Cookies also set up selling their wares, as the lighting ceremony was at the same time as Shop Small Saturday, a day to focus on supporting local, smaller businesses.

The lighting festival just happened to coincide with the Silver Valley Chamber’s Shop Small campaign, which helps support local businesses, like GG’s Cookies, by adding a special discount if you shop at their store.

A special visit from Santa Claus himself was the highlight for many young attendees as he arrived and helped light the large Christmas tree. After the tree lighting, children lined up and told the Jolly man their Christmas wishes and what they wanted to see under the tree.

After enjoying the free treats and chatting with jolly ol’ Saint Nick, the fireworks show began.

It wasn’t just the booms and pops of the fireworks, but the ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from the crowd as the beautiful colors lit up the night sky and cascaded down.

The evening wrapped up with the premiere of the newest Warren Miller ski movie "Daymaker." "Daymaker" was shot on location in Idaho, Alaska, Colorado, Utah, Canada, Greece and Switzerland; described as a film that will take you on a journey to peaks that replace the mountains in your mind with ones that free your mind.

Silver Mountain recently had its opening day on Nov. 25, as the Silver Valley received a good amount of snow in November, and this is only the beginning.

The mountain will be fully opened on the weekends and Dec. 15 marks the day that the mountain will stay open all week.

Weather forecast for the next week shows heavy snow, so look forward to some potential fresh powder for all-day shredding.

For more information on Silver Mountain, ticket sales and operating times, visit silvermt.com.