Holiday festivities began Saturday with the sixth annual Mrs. Claus’ Holiday Bazaar held at the Latah County Fair and Event Center. Vendors clad in colorful Christmas sweaters welcomed visitors with a variety of handmade and local wares.

Upon entering, patrons were greeted by a booth displaying an array of baked goods and warm food. Visitors could munch on anything from a bag of chocolate chip cookies to a personal-sized cheesecake or a cup of fresh fruit.

Kristy Hennigar, co-owner of Ranch House Catering who manned the treats booth, said she’d been baking for 10 to 15 years. It was her fourth time at the bazaar, but sixth year catering. She said she recommended the black forest cake or pumpkin roll.

Further inside was a sprawling booth covered with animal skulls. Peter Quintana, owner of the booth, said he was able to get the skulls brighter and cleaner than most other sellers in the same trade. He said he was also able to eliminate the smell better than most.

“Everybody asks, ‘Well how do you do it?’ ” Quintana said. “And I say, ‘Well, I don’t really want to tell my secret!’ ”

Though it was his first time at Moscow’s holiday bazaar, he is no newbie to hunting. Thanks to his uncle’s influence, Quintana first became interested in the sport 27 years ago.

He said his favorite animal to hunt is elk, though he also hunts wolves and bears. He offered an alligator skull for sale at a previous fair.

Further down the fair aisle, Saskia Zijlstra, who moved to the U.S. from the Netherlands 10 years ago, displayed her home-crafted felt gnomes and animals.

Another booth manned by two stay-at-home-moms named Teresa and Gabriella presented patrons with home-sewn baby blankets.

There was even a booth offering honey products and the chance to observe a live bee apiary, which is a collection of bee hives meant for making honey. Santa Claus also attended the event.

Darby Baldwin, co-director of the event and administrative assistant to the chief of police at the Pullman Police Department, said she tried hard to ensure there was a variety of booths at the bazaar.

“There’s a super wide variety, from people who do custom metal art to woodworking, to [catering] that serves breakfast and lunch,” Baldwin said. “We have little mom and pop people who craft in their basements to people who actually run local businesses.”

Baldwin said she and her sister Shandy Renee love when vendors go all out to decorate their booths. In order to encourage vendors to be festive, they hold an ugly Christmas sweater competition every year. This year’s winner received a free space at next year’s event.

The fair’s youngest vendor and winner of last year’s sweater competition, 8-year-old Jordan Lusby, sold crafts she made with her mom. She said her favorite product to make was the colorful slime sold in little plastic tubs.

Baldwin said she and Renee started the bazaar six years ago when they saw a need for a local craft fair, especially around Christmas time.

“We just had our fingers crossed the first year that we would have enough vendors willing to join us,” Baldwin said.

That fear quickly dissolved when high demand for booth space forced Baldwin and Renee to make a waitlist — a scenario that’s continued every year since, Baldwin said.

About 40 booths participated in this year’s bazaar, Baldwin said. Last year she and Renee accepted more vendors but had to spread the fair into two buildings. They decided to keep the bazaar in one building this year to keep all booths more central.

Baldwin said her favorite thing about the fair was getting to “adopt” a family for this holiday. She said she and Renee used part of the profits each year to give back to the community and offer a family in need a special Christmas.

Something else Baldwin said she enjoyed about the fair was collecting food donations at the entrance for the local food bank.

Baldwin said she wouldn’t ever oversee a booth herself.

“Honestly, every year I have these big Pinterest streams about things I’m going to make,” Baldwin said, “and then I’m quickly reminded that I’m way better at shopping [for them] than making them.”