This year’s event is from 4-7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 11, at the Moose Lodge and has been growing rapidly, with “about 400” people attending the first year in 2022, said Lisa Luft, who helped with the event.

The event grew to 750 people in 2023, and this year the group is expecting about 1,000 people.

Scott Evanoff, a parishioner at United Methodist Church who assists with the event, said the event has not only outgrown its beginnings at the church, but now has grown to reach those outside the Minot community. “There are people in need all over, and it’s growing,” Evanoff said, sharing how donations come from cities like Carrington and other surrounding communities.

Families check in and receive tickets to “pay” for the items they choose. The tickets are a method to ensure each person who shows up can get a gift, according to Linda Wade, one of the event coordinators. She said then shoppers can bring their gifts to a table where they will be wrapped, and it can be a “one stop shop.”

Ben Pifher/MDN Linda Wade is shown with donations being sorted for The Miracle of Christmas. The gifts purchased for or donated to the event are stored at parishioners’ homes until the time comes for final preparations for the event.

A combination of civic groups, stores and individuals as well as grants enable the group from the church to procure dozens of totes of goods for the event.

Sixty-nine pans of lasagna will be ready to be served in to-go containers so that families can have a holiday meal as well.

“The whole idea is that when (shoppers) are done that night, they should have a gift to go home with, and hopefully a full stomach and a smile on their face, is what we’re looking for,” Evanoff said.

Along with the food, gifts, and wrapping, there will be a crafts table so children can make Christmas-themed crafts, as well as a live nativity scene performed by attendees, Wade said.

Bonnie Oakes, event coordinator, is a large part of what makes the Miracle of Christmas a success each year, according to her colleagues.

The Miracle of Christmas has already been selected for the Twice Blessed Campaign, a grant which will match any contributions up to $5,000 given to the drive through Dec. 31. The grant will allow Oakes, Wade, Evanoff and Luft, a head start for the 2025 event.

With how successful the campaign has been, not everything has to be given as gifts, Evanoff said. Each child will get a free hat and gloves just for showing up. “It’s full of smiles and good feelings for both those walking out with the gifts, and those helping with the event,” he said.