By Laura Allen
Rowan County Cooperative Extension

The holiday season is just around the corner, so it’s time to start preparing. Rowan County 4-H is ready to help you with your decorations and activities to keep your children engaged.

If you are looking for beautiful, fragrant, N.C.-grown wreaths and garland for your holiday decor, look no further. The Rowan County 4-H Wreath Sale is currently underway, with various wreaths and garland available for order. Wreaths are made of North Carolina grown fraser fir or boxwood (or a mixture of both) while the garland is made of white pine. We have various sizes available for purchase so that you can pick the perfect size to meet your needs. In addition to wreaths and garland, we also have kissing balls and a Christmas star. All items range in price from $20-$50. A complete item and price list can be found at https://rowan.ces.ncsu.edu/2020/10/4-h-wreath-sale/.

All orders are due no later than Nov. 19 and pick up is Dec. 3 at the extension office. Orders can be placed online at go.ncsu.edu/4hwreathsale2020, or if you need ordering assistance, you can call 704-216-8970. All proceeds support Rowan County 4-H Clubs and Rowan County 4-H PALS.

Due to COVID-19, we are requesting payment before pick up to reduce contact on the day of pick up. Please mail a check made out to Rowan County 4-H PALS to 2727-A Old Concord Road Salisbury, NC 28146 or bring exact cash or check to the same address.

As you prepare for the holidays, it’s also important to have activities ready for your children while they are home from school. Rowan County 4-H is offering a free take-home “Night Hike” kit in November to assist you in having some fun activities available for your children during Thanksgiving break. Each kit has enough supplies for two participants (two youths or one youth and one parent).

The Night Hike kit includes five activities created by N.C. 4-H Camps. Rowan County 4-H will provide the activity instructions and the supplies needed to complete the activities. The purpose of these activities is to explore some of the adaptations that nocturnal animals use to live and thrive in darkness, such as echo-location. Youths will experiment with their own sensory awareness and hopefully become more familiar with the elements of the night. These activities do not require an actual hike. The first three activities can be done at any time of day. The remaining activities should be done when it’s dark outside or in a dark area of your home.

These kits are available to Rowan County youths ages 5-18 (as of Jan. 1). You do not have to be enrolled in 4-H to receive a kit. There are only 20 kits available and registration is due by Nov. 13. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/127234689381. Once you have registered, you will be prompted to sign up for a pick up time on Nov. 16 or 17. All kits should be picked up at the extension office.

We hope you’ll get engaged with 4-H this holiday season!

4-H is the youth development component of Cooperative Extension. Any youths ages 5-18 (as of Jan. 1) are invited to enroll and participate in 4-H. Visit us at 2727-A Old Concord Road in Salisbury or rowan.ces.ncsu.edu. For questions or more information, contact 704-216-8970 or laura_allen@ncsu.edu.

Laura Allen is the Rowan County Cooperative Extension 4-H agent.