Isabelle Benacki,10, makes a holiday button with Juna Jochum, 7, during Santa's First Stop festivities in the Cranberry Township building Friday.

CRANBERRY TWP — It may be the middle of November, but the Christmas season has begun in Cranberry Township.

Jolly old Saint Nick rode into town atop an antique fire engine, making his way through a horde of adults and kids alike to light the township’s white-lit Christmas tree during Santa’s First Stop on Friday night.

It was the first First Stop in Cranberry since 2019, given the COVID-19 pandemic-related cancellation of last year’s visit. And residents made their way out in droves to see Father Christmas for the first time in 2021.

The Cranberry Township Municipal Center’s parking lot was stuffed to the antlers, and inside the building there was hardly room to move, with children and their parents milling about between stations set up to help guests enjoy the kickoff of Christmas.

Read more in Sunday's Butler Eagle.