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By Emily Reed | Special to the Reporter

ALABASTER – First Baptist Church of Alabaster is gearing up for their second annual Wonderland event on Wednesday, Dec. 7 from 6 to 8 p.m.

“Wonderland was created to provide our community with a completely free event where they can experience the wonder of Christmas with their family,” said Amber Bennefield, who is the church pre-school and children’s minister. “Like most churches in our area, we have always had some type of large fall event. So, we thought, why not take all the fun and games from our fall events, and use it to intentionally share the true meaning of Christmas.”

Wonderland is free, but families are asked to reserve their tickets in advance by helping event organizers to better prepare for crowd size.

Some of the things featured at this year’s event will be “Snow Much Fun” where a special area of snow will be featured for children to play and build a snowman in; “Mele Kalikimaka” allows event attendees to experience Christmas in Hawaii where they can make a lei and grab some grilled pineapple; a gingerbread village will feature gingerbread mini-golf, cocoa and fresh baked cookies; “A Very Merry Christmas” carnival will allow children to play a carnival game and win a Christmas prize; a King’s Cross Station will have a train that travels the Bethlehem Express where everyone can journey to the first Christmas and experience the wonder of Jesus’ birth and “Town Square” where families can have their picture taken, enjoy snow flurries and listen to carolers.

“We also invite you to leave a prayer request on our prayer tree,” Bennefield said. “Our church family will pray over each request during the Christmas season.”

The event is for all ages and families are encouraged to attend.

“Our hope for Wonderland is that it would be a blessing to our community this Christmas season,” Bennefield said. “At a time of year that can be both emotionally and financially draining, we want this to be a worry-free night, full of Christmas fun and the hope of Jesus Christ that families look forward to each year.”

To register for the event, visit WonderlandFBCA.eventbrite.com.