BELHAVEN — Festivities abound in the town of Belhaven as it celebrates the peak of the holiday season.

Residents will get in the swing of things on Saturday, starting with Santa’s Village at noon, where children can meet the man himself, make food for the reindeer and even mail their wish list to the North Pole, according to an announcement flyer.

Children up to age 12 can also build their own gingerbread houses starting at 1 p.m. at Spoon River Artworks and Market, and all of the supplies will be provided.

Belhaven’s annual Christmas parade kicks off at 4 p.m., with lineup starting an hour prior on Railroad Street. The event is sure to include costumes and holiday décor, in keeping with the spirit of Christmas.

“We’ve got all kinds of stuff going on on Saturday,” said Diana Lambeth, executive director at the Belhaven Chamber of Commerce.

To embrace the season, Lambeth said businesses and restaurants are also decorating with a “Christmas Around the World” theme, and each one is assigned a location on which to base the décor.

The themes include the Caribbean Islands at Fish Hooks Café, Ireland at the Tavern at Jack’s Neck, the Netherlands at Spoon River and the continent of Africa at T&L Variety, among several others.

Lambeth said she knows the Tavern at Jack’s Neck is selling Irish coffee and has put up green decorations to go along with its Irish theme.

“We have 13 different countries represented,” she said, referring to participating businesses. “It’s really fun to go look at the stores.”

Five shops in Belhaven are operating on a later schedule on Friday nights as well, similar to downtown Washington’s Festive Fridays. The shops will stay open until 8:30 p.m. every Friday until Christmas to attract more customers.

Those customers will be able to enjoy the decorations around the town and the personalized experience of shopping in Belhaven.

Residents will decorate either their home exteriors or business windows as part of the Christmas decoration contest, which will complement the other town décor.

“The caboose that is next to the chamber is being restored, and the whole front is restored now and it is beautiful. … They’ve been working real hard on it,” Lambeth added.

Another popular event is the Toy Trains of Belhaven exhibit, which is having a preview day on Friday afternoon and its grand opening on Saturday starting at 1 p.m.

“The trains are Standard Gauge and O Gauge tinplate trains and trolleys running on over 200 feet of track. They are made of cast iron and steel,” a brochure for the display stated.

Some of the toy trains are nearing 100 years of age, while others are reproductions of old train models from the years prior to World War II, according to the brochure.

Don Stark, who organizes the event, said this year’s exhibit will be the largest yet, as it has expanded from one room in the Old Town Hall to two.

“We have a greatly expanded exhibit this year, and it’s about, oh, at least 40 percent to 50 percent larger than last year’s,” he said. “It’s amazing how much work went into this.”

“We had the problem, of course, in Belhaven with the flooding (in October), so that set us back a bit,” Stark said.

But despite those issues, the exhibit is ready to go, and Stark said he enjoys seeing people’s faces as they walk in — adults and children alike.

He said some kids like to come back multiple times, and he’ll recognize them with a different adult family member in tow each time.

“We’re excited to have everybody come,” Stark said. “It’s a pretty big thing here for Belhaven.”

Saturday’s festivities will come to a close with the Candlelight Tour of Homes at 5:30 p.m.

The majority of the seven homes on the tour are located on East Water Street and East Main Street, but the tour also includes Jim and Susie Merritt’s home on Cedar Street. Lambeth said a trolley will transport people to the tour.

“It’s just fun. Once the work is done, it is just great fun for us,” Stark said.