Saturday’s dreary weather did nothing to dampen the spirits of the families who trekked through Onset Village for the return of the annual Christmas in the Parks event. 

From noon to 3 p.m. on Dec. 11, more than 15 participating businesses hosted a series of Christmas activities and events throughout Onset Village. 

At the Onset Bay Association’s office and at The Onset Clay Room, people could make their own Christmas ornaments for a $10 donation. 

“It’s a fun day,” said Amanda Cobb of the association. Cobb and Melissa and Jessica Goodell helped kids create their own ornaments. 

The Onset Bay Association had a variety of ornament options — kids could color scallop shells with sharpies, draw on wooden ornaments or fill clear ornaments with sand and other decorations they picked themselves. 

Cobb said they’d seen many cute kids. 

Santa also visited Onset Village. Dressed to impress in his red suit and hat, Jolly Old Saint Nicholas set up shop at Salerno’s Function Hall and spent the afternoon posing for photos and updating kids’ Christmas wishlists. 

He said he’d had visitors “nonstop.”

Cookie decorating and hot cocoa were available at the Spinney Memorial Branch of the Wareham Free Library on Onset Avenue. 

Library Director Patrick Marshall said that although the Spinney Branch remains closed due to staffing shortages, it felt important to open the location to be part of the Onset festivities. 

“We wanted to be part of the holiday celebration,” he said. 

About an hour and a half into the event, Marshall said the crew at the library had seen 82 people come through to decorate cookies and enjoy some hot cocoa.

“They’ve made a mess,” he joked, surveying the extensive array of cookie decorations available. 

The crew at the library had gathered just about every decoration imaginable — Christmas-themed M&M’s, Hershey’s kisses, sprinkles in a variety of shapes and colors, crushed candy cane pieces and red, white and green frosting. 

The Leighton family came to Onset Village from Carver after Andy Leighton heard about the event from a coworker. 

“We saw Santa already,” Andy said, as Sophie, 4, diligently decorated a cookie. He said they’d been having fun. 

The cookie decorating station was a big hit, leaving kids to nibble away at their sugary creations in a quiet corner of the library or to carefully pack their cookies up to enjoy later on. 

At one point in the afternoon, Onset’s Purple Bear and Frosty the Snowman dropped by the library to do a bit of Christmas caroling. 

The holiday fun continued at Onset Pier, where the Onset Bay Association had set up a towering lobster trap Christmas tree, complete with lights and a lobster/star tree topper. A number of businesses participated as well, with Glen Cove Hotel hosting reindeer food making and Guido’s Ice Cream & More doing a candy cane giveaway. 

Ultimately, Cobb said the association was just excited to bring back a version of its big holiday event this year, after two years without any festivities.