Throughout the month of December, Santa Clarita’s libraries are hosting holiday events for all of Santa Clarita Valley.

Events will be held on different dates through this holiday month where families and people of all ages are welcomed.

Library staff also encourage everyone to participate. ”It gets the entire library involved, and it’s fun to get people who didn’t expect to be involved participating,” stated Angie Ashe, the children’s librarian of the Jo Anne Darcy branch.

“It’s so much fun to see the excitement on families faces when they see the we have crafts and activities we have,” Ashe said, “and to see families doing things together.”

The Valencia Library started the month off with its annual Gingerbread Contest on Dec, 2-4, hosted by the branch’s Friends of the Library group.

This week, Wednesday, December 7 families are invited to the the Valencia Library to enjoy a holiday-themed, musical story time and craft day from 6:00 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. Also on December 7, registration for the gingerbread cookie decoration event that will take place the following week, will begin at 8:00 a.m.

Next week, on Wednesday, December 14, the Valencia branch will hold an event where kids are invited to decorate gingerbread cookies from 6:00 p.m to 7:15 p.m. Registration for this event is required.

Events at the Valencia Branch will wrap up with Hanukkah Storytime with Wendy Hersh and Rabbi Mark Blazer On Wednesday, December 28, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The Valencia Public Library is located on 23743 W. Valencia Blvd.

The Old Town Newhall Library will kick off its holiday events with frosting and cookies at a gingerbread cookie decorating event on Friday, December 9 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. This program is aimed for school age kids, but all are welcomed. However, space is limited to supplies on hand, according to library officials.

On Tuesday, December 13 the Newhall branch is offering families a special Christmas storytime, reindeer games and holiday crafts from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The holiday events at the Old Town library will end with the Hanukkah Storytime with Wendy Hersh and Rabbi Mark Blazer on Thursday, December 29, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The Old Town Newhall Library is located at 24500 Main Street.

For the Canyon Country Jo Anne Darcy Library, Saturday, December 10 marks the beginning of December events, and the branch welcomes families to the Make and Take Holiday Cards event from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. that day.

Wednesday, December 21, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m, the Elf Ball celebration will have fun activities like making marshmallow shooters, elf hats and more. All are invited to this family event, but parental supervision is required. This branch will also wrap up its month of festivities with the Hanukkah Storytime narrator Wendy Hersh and Rabbi Mark Blazer which will take place Tuesday, December 27, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

All three branches will be open at their regular times throughout all of December but will be closed on the 24 and the 25 in observance of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.