By GAYLE WEBER

gweber@dailynews.net

ALTON -- A meeting room 10 months out of the year, the Alton Community Room has transformed into the community's annual holiday shop.

The Craft Basket, a store filled with crafts from Alton residents and people across the region, opens the first Saturday each November and remains open on weekends through Christmas Eve.

"We have a lot of fun cleaning, getting it organized, making ornaments," said Barbara Wilson, one of the store's volunteers.

The Craft Basket started in a small storefront in downtown Alton in 1987, but through the years, the number of people participating and the amount of handmade crafts has grown.

"It was only Alton-address people to begin with," said Wilda Carswell, another store volunteer. "Then we expanded to people that had a connection to Alton, and now we've expanded to anyone that wants to come."

The store features everything from tea towels and home decor to baby items and wood shelves. On Saturdays, the Craft Basket also has baked goods made by many local residents.

Working in the store, Wilson and Carswell said it's hard to go home empty-handed.

"You end up doing a little Christmas shopping when you spend the day here," Wilson said.

To get started every year, a set-up committee collects all the craft items to be sold and arranges them in the store. They also come up with a bonus gift -- this year, a snowman -- for customers spending more than $20.

"We get together and have a fun time coming up with an idea," Wilson said.

Wilson sells some of her crafts each year. This year, Christmas ornaments, Renuzit dolls and coffee table runners are some of her main items.

"I rattle my brain all summer trying to figure out, 'What can I make new?' " Wilson said.

Carswell said she's always happy to see new items, such as this season's array of special-occasion scrapbook cards, but she's also happy to see items return.

"The wood products weren't here at the beginning this year, but we got them added," Carswell said. "They add a lot to it, I think."

The Craft Basket, which is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays, is just one way Alton residents try to bring people to town each holiday season.

In the back of the Alton Community Room, residents have a garage sale for the first three weekends of November. That sale continues through Sunday during the same hours as the Craft Basket.

On Nov. 28, area independent businesses will be part of a mini-mall that coincides with the Craft Basket's grand opening.

Dec. 5 is the annual Chocolate Festival to celebrate Russell Stover's birthplace, and Dec. 12, Santa Claus comes to town.

The Craft Basket will be open from 1 to 5 p.m. Christmas Eve.