Last-minute shopping at Prairie Crossing cookie walk

Creative last-minute holiday shoppers visited the 18th annual Prairie Crossing Cookie Walk and Bake Sale on Sunday at the Byron Colby Barn in Grayslake.

The event featured homemade holiday cookies, handmade gifts, stocking stuffers and other unique items offered by local artisans and businesses. All proceeds went to charity.

New this year, volunteer bakers vied for cash prizes in a baking contest for best homemade cookie in taste and appearance categories.

To help shoppers manage the holiday stress, massage therapists from Release Massage Therapy offered free chair massages. Other booths featured handmade jewelry, hand-painted gourds, ornaments, knitwear, bath items and home goods.

Children visited Santa’s Workshop to decorate a free cookie and create their own handmade Christmas cards while enjoying a snack and listening to holiday music.

A raffle gave shoppers a chance to win a flat-screen TV, digital camera, gift certificates for massages and local stores, a gourmet cake by award-winning baker Catherine Finger, as well as cash prizes ranging from $50 to $5,000. Raffle proceeds went to Arms Around Adele, a fundraiser for 2-year-old Adele Higgins of Burbank, who has cystic fibrosis.

All proceeds from the cookie walk will be split between three nonprofit charities: the Cystic Fibrosis Association, Avon Township Food Pantry and the Prairie Crossing Volunteer Corps.