Caroling, sleigh rides, hanging stockings by chimneys with care.

Everyone celebrates Christmas differently. There is no wrong way to observe the holidays.

Just one of the ways that Zion Lutheran Church, Leola celebrates the yuletide season is with an annual Christmas community event.

"For me, the best part is just seeing a plan come together and seeing people enjoy the plan," said Patty Williams, the coordinator of the event and one of Zion Lutheran's most active elves. "All of our people here at Zion participate in one way or another. It feels good because it's a church project. People look forward to it. It's great fellowship."

Zion Lutheran's annual Holiday Bazaar and Cookie Walk is a holiday staple in Leola. This year's edition of the warm, family-friendly event will be conducted from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6, inside the church's large gymnasium and greeting area at 18 Quarry Road, Leola.

The Holiday Bazaar and Cookie Walk is free to attend, and in the spirit of the holidays, everyone is welcome.

"The vibe is good; it's kind of laid back," said Williams. "People really like it here. It's a nice environment. Everyone is having good fellowship and having a good relaxing time."

The bazaar portion of the event will feature the work of more than 17 talented vendors offering Christmas-themed merchandise such as soaps, potpourri, horseradish and relishes, clothing accessories, jewelry, moisturizing products, home decor, wooden puzzles and games, gnomes, knitting and wreaths. Also available will be hot and cold food items like breakfast sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, walking tacos, chicken corn soup, hot cider, coffee, water and other assorted beverages.

There will also be a kids' area with crafts, Christmas cookie decorating and a shopping corner. Zion Lutheran Church music director Kurt Brown will set the mood for the event by playing Christmas hymns and carols.

A decorated Christmas tree will further liven the festivities, and door prizes will be awarded to guests.

"This is an inviting church, a welcoming church," said Williams. "It's filled up with people who care. It's a joyful event, which I think is a different term than happy. That's what I hope people will feel when they come in here - joy."

Perhaps the highlight of the community event will be the cookie walk, which gets underway when the doors open at 8:30 a.m. The church's seasoned bakers will offer a variety assortment of their specialty cookies for sale, everything from tollhouse to peanut butter, from chocolate cookies to peppermint-flavored, from springerles to raisin-filled and snickerdoodles.

Customers can mix and match their favorites with cookies that evoke childhood memories.

"The people at church bake lots and lots and lots of cookies," said Williams. "You get to fill a box, and you can put in as many cookies as you want. But you have to be able to close the box."

More than 300 individuals from the Leola and Conestoga Valley areas, New Holland and Lancaster County are expected to attend Zion Lutheran Church's Holiday Bazaar and Cookie Walk.

Organizers of the event are hoping to raise $2,000, which will be donated to a yet-to-be-determined cause as part of the church's outreach ministry. In the past, funds have benefited disaster relief efforts.

"It's a fundraiser, and we do it to raise funds that will go outside the church," said Williams. "We don't use it internally. That's the purpose, to help the community at large."

In addition to a number of advent and Christmas church services, Zion Lutheran Leola commemorates the holidays by sponsoring a giving tree that collects mittens, scarves and socks for locals in need. Throughout the year, the church hosts a free movie night in the spring, a family water slide day in August and a community meal on the third Friday of every month and regularly collects food for Conestoga Valley Christian Community Services.

Zion Lutheran Church, which is operated by a congregation of about 170 members, was established by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Leola in 1857.

For additional information, go to http://www.zionleola.org.