It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but the Brookhaven-LincolnCounty Chamber of Commerce is well into the Christmas spirit.

Lights began being strung in trees and planters around downtownTuesday, and more decorations will follow Thursday as chamberofficials and volunteers deck downtown Brookhaven for the annualChristmas parade on Dec. 4 and the holidays thereafter.

“This is one more special thing that we as a community try tomake bigger and better,” chamber volunteer Kenny Goza said of thedecorations. “We realized about four years ago in talking with thecommunity leadership that we could do a better job putting emphasison Christmas. The city provides the budget, and we manage it tocelebrate the Christmas season.”

A second workday, in which volunteers are invited to assist inthe decorating, is scheduled for Thursday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Chamber officials said participating in the workday is a goodway for students and civic groups to add to their community servicehours. Brookhaven Girl Scout Troop 777 were among those assistingin the chamber effort Tuesday.

Using the city’s increased decorations budget of $10,000 -$6,000 for new decorations and $4,000 for refurbishing old ones -chamber Program Director Kay Burton said there will be some newadditions to the Christmas inventory this year to brighten up thedecorations even more.

“The city has beefed up the budget for this, so we startedbuying a few things here and there with the money that wasallocated,” she said. “We already had a few things, and we justadded to that.”

With the new decorations, the chamber has quite a merryinventory to work with.

Thirteen additional 8-foot shooting star decorations have beenpurchased, bringing the total number of the high-flying props to56. Entergy officials will work to place them high atop utilitypoles around town, Burton said.

The decorations will also include “Merry Christmas” banners,along with a Nativity scene in front of the depot, three camels inRailroad Park on their way to the Nativity, a train, snowman,reindeer, carolers and other figurines and thousands of lights.

The lights, banners and shooting stars will be placed aroundBrookway Boulevard, Cherokee Street, Monticello Street, South FirstStreet and Whitworth Avenue. The final decoration, a large cityChristmas tree, will be placed beside the chamber within the nextfew days.

The decorations should all be in place and powered up by Dec.1.They will remain in place until Jan. 1.