On Friday, December 1, from 4:30-7 P.M., Santa was at the Caboose for all the families to visit and take photos. The kids were greeted by Mrs. Claus, and while the kids were waiting, they could color holiday coloring pages and write a letter to Santa. There was also tree-lighting, choirs performing, ornament-making, selfie stations, and a reading of “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” with s’mores. In addition, the shops were open until 9 P.M.
“Santa at the Caboose was so fun! It was a great way to get ready [for Christmas] and in the spirit,” said Lydia Otten. “It was so awesome to see all of the kids get happy and excited to see Santa! I really enjoyed it because the youngest in my house is six and he will stop believing soon, so I soaked it all in.”
The event was organized by the Chamber of Commerce, Pinckney Bend, and the Downtown Merchants.
The Publications and TV/Video classes at NHHS had come up with the idea to decorate for the Caboose. Mrs. Katie Borcherding had taken the TV/Video class down to the Caboose on Thursday during their class, and she took the Publications class down on Friday during their class to set up the decorations. On Monday, the TV Studio class went back to the Caboose to take the decorations back down.
“I thought that it was great,” said Mrs. Borcherding. “It ran much more smoothly than last year, but that was the first year for the event.”
“When I was younger, I only got to see Santa once or twice and I didn’t enjoy it,” reflects Miranda Durbin. “Seeing so many kids and families get the chance to actually see Santa and take a photo with him is really heart-warming. I think it’s great that our community comes together to take advantage of this opportunity.”