The Marshall House hosted our annual free Santa Event; 343 were in attendance. Declarations were made: “He is the Real Santa.” He related to the children so much that they were giving him high-fives and the littlest were playing with the bells on his toes. We were not really sure if parents or their kids were more excited. They also really appreciated that they could take their own pictures with their personal cameras.
Special greetings were given at the front door by an ex-army school teacher/elf proclaiming, “You’re not here to see Santa?” or “You don’t like cookies or hot chocolate, do you?”
Santa was in the formal parlor engaging the entire room at one time. Coloring pictures with information on General Marshall were colored. Letters to Santa were made and dropped in our Santa mail box. Santa candy cane sleighs were constructed with the help of a glue gun and two volunteers. There was a kid-oriented tree to take pictures with in the family parlor. Stories were read in the Marshall library as well by a former school teacher/librarian.
It is a much-loved holiday tradition. Those who came in for the event were pleasantly surprised and when leaving stated, “We’ll tell friends and see you next year!”
