“I’m disappointed. I love a white Christmas,” Salvation Army volunteer Kathy Strack said outside Kinney Drugs on Broadway in Saranac Lake.

Except for plowing and shoveling, snow brings joy. Despite the lack of snow on the ground, for Kathy, the important things are family and togetherness.

Just up the road at Taylor Rental, manager Chris Sharrow said family is an important part of his ideal Christmas, along with snow and a few goodies. Sharrow’s perfect holiday would include “a couple feet of snow, a new snowmobile outside and family.” But a lack of snow doesn’t matter much.

“It’s still Christmas,” Sharrow said. “Snow doesn’t make it the holidays.”

Part-time locals Martin Nussbaum and Lyna Yip said on Main Street in Saranac Lake Friday that they wish for snow this Christmas. (Enterprise photo — Oliver Reil)

Chace Riley, parts and service manager at Taylor Rental, thinks the dry ground is “kind of upsetting.” He remembers lots of snow this time of year in his youth, even on Halloween.

“Good snow conditions, not rain and mud,” Riley said about his ideal Christmas.

Three others, interviewed on Main Street, pointed out the effect of climate change on the aesthetic of Christmas.

Dylan Van Cott, a member of the Village of Saranac Lake Arts and Culture Advisory Board, sees a snow-free Christmas as a warning sign of already worsening climate change.

“It’s depressing,” he said. But according to Van Cott, the spirit of Christmas is still around town. He only wishes it was snowier.

Dylan Van Cott said on Main Street in Saranac Lake Friday that this year's green Christmas hasn't changed the local holiday spirit. (Enterprise photo — Oliver Reil)

“If there’s snow on the ground it’s a good Christmas,” he said.

Van Cott’s sentiment is shared by Martin Nussbaum and Lyna Yip, New York City residents who live in Vermontville part-time.

“Climate change is terrible,” Nussbaum said. A cross-country skier, he would like to see at least five to six inches of snow on the ground. But regardless of the snow — or lack thereof — he makes the best of the holiday.

“It’s just so abnormal,” Yip said. “You feel like something is wrong.”

Yip recalls two to three feet of snow just a few years ago and said that holiday coziness beloved by so many just isn’t there.

Chris Sharrow sits behind the front counter at Taylor Rental in Saranac Lake on Friday. He has faith in a white Christmas. (Enterprise photo — Oliver Reil)

“It changes the flavor of the holiday,” she said.

The High Peaks still hold snow, but the lower elevations are bare. Earlier in the week, there was heavy rain and flooding accompanied by warm temperatures. Daytime highs and nighttime lows have dropped going into the weekend, and the Tri-Lakes region might see freezing rain or light snow Saturday and Saturday night. The National Weather Service expects temperatures to rise and is forecasting a high near 45 degrees Fahrenheit on Christmas Day.

Chace Riley of Taylor Rental in Saranac Lake said on Friday that he wishes for good snow conditions on Christmas. (Enterprise photo — Oliver Reil)

Santa hangs from a high crane outside Taylor Rental in Saranac Lake. (Enterprise photo — Oliver Reil)