Christmas is almost here and many people will be with friends and family for the holiday, but an option is returning for those without Christmas meal plans.

The 18th annual free Christmas dinner will take place in the Fellowship Hall at St. Olaf Lutheran Church, 301 First St. NW, on Christmas Day.

“It’s actually gone really well in the last couple of years,” said Danielle Morem, the granddaughter of dinner founder Gladys Bliss. “It certainly depends on the weather how many people we get.”

The traditional dinner continues to be in memory of Gladys Bliss’ only son, Peter Klein, who grew up with four sisters. He died in 1998 after he broke his neck riding a dirt bike near Maple Island. He was 32. The family set up the dinner in his memory soon after.

“It was just really a hard time for the family so they decided to do something a little different for Christmas, which is how the dinner started,” Morem said.

She said the last few years have had about 300 to 350 people come to the dinner that the Klein family puts on each year. As of last week, Morem had heard there were more calls than previous years, and she said she had done more advertising of the dinner than usual this year.

“We want people to come who don’t have any place to go, who sit alone on Christmas,” Morem said. “I think when we started it, it was so we didn’t feel alone, and we want people to feel the same way. So we want people to come and be in the company of others.”

The family previously told the Herald it’s been a blessing for others every year since: those who have no family, nowhere to celebrate on Christmas or simply need the fellowship. The family had discussed ending the annual dinner at 15 years, but they decided to keep it going since it was received so well each year. Now other family members are taking it on, including grandchildren and cousins. Morem said it’s been nice as some of the cousins have never known a Christmas besides the dinner.

“I think our plan is to keep it going, all of the cousins love it,” she said. “We’re really excited about it.”

The traditional dinner will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with ham, turkey and all of the trimmings. It is open and free to the public. Registration is encouraged but not required by calling St. Olaf at 507-437-1700. Transportation will be available upon request, and the event is provided by Family and Friends of Peter Klein and is sponsored by Thrivent Financial.

Morem said there are still people who attend who came the first year, and she was excited to see both regular attenders and newcomers.

“We’re hoping this at least gives them something to do and something to look forward to on Christmas,” she said.