Christmastime In This Small Town- Italy

I am often asked what it is like during the Christmas season in my small town called Chiusi. I have spent now a number of holidays here to know what the lineup of festivities are. During the whole month of December, the stores are open on Sundays as well as the other days of the week. The first Sunday in December is devoted to the town fair or "Fiera." The streets are closed to traffic and there are stands outside selling everything from clothing to shoes to food to animals. Every year I get my great wicker baskets at this Fair that I use for magazines, wood, toys, etc. A great bargain. Many people do all their Christmas shopping at the Fair just because the prices are so good.
The last week before Christmas is the most exciting, especially for children. In one of the smaller piazza's, there is a wooden shed named "Santa's House" that is decorated and has a small mail box in the front where children leave their Christmas letters for Santa. On the Sunday before Christmas Santa "drops down from the sky." He actually comes out of a window from a 5 story palazzo and slowly lets himself down a rope while he throws candy down at the children. This takes place in the town piazza and is usually a crowd pleaser. During the week before Christmas there is also the horse and carriage where children or adults can take rides around town.
There may not be the hustle or bustle of Rome, Milan, New York, or London but there is something really comfy and quaint about Christmastime in Chiusi.