By Town Crier Report

A ride in a horse-drawn carriage, bright Christmas lights and crisp winter air may have families singing spirited rounds of “Over the River and Through the Woods” downtown this month.

Kathleen Lytle and her husband, Craig, take their three children on a downtown carriage ride every year. When the Lytles took their then 2-year-old daughter, Nicole, on her first downtown carriage ride four years ago, she loved it.

Now Nicole brings her parents and two younger brothers, Christopher, 4, and Kevin, 2, along on one of the Lytle family’s favorite Christmas traditions.

“It’s festive, and the holiday lights downtown are so pretty,” Kathleen said. “We sing Christmas carols and take pictures for our scrapbook. And the kids look forward to it every year.”

Florence Schenk’s family, including her five grandchildren, gather in the horse-drawn carriages each December to take their family Christmas card photo.

“Sometimes we take so many pictures to get it just right, but the carriage drivers are very nice about it,” she explained. “We always see people we know to wave to. It’s a lot of fun.”

Sponsored by the Los Altos Village Association, the carriage rides have become a local holiday tradition.

For this year’s rides, horse trainer and instructor David West will bring two carriages drawn by his hackney horses Jake and Deacon.

West started his horse-drawn carriage business 10 years ago, “to contribute something positive to the community that would be an extension of my work with horses.”

Each carriage accommodates four to six passengers, and takes them for a 30-minute ride around downtown Los Altos. The reproduction 19th-century carriages are outfitted with modern headlights and meet all safety requirements.

Rides will be available during the daytime and evening Thursday through Sunday. Cost is $60 per carriage. For reservations and information, call 949-5282.