by Tom Henihan
Apart from the weather being considerably warmer than last year, McLennan Santa Day, on December 13 still delivered all the seasonal excitement and lived up to the high expectations those who organize the annual event have created.
Both adults and children had an excellent time as always, but of course, the focus was on keeping the kids entertained. To that end, no effort was spared, with an endless supply of popcorn, hot chocolate, juice, face painting, door prizes, sleigh rides and a much-anticipated visit from Santa.
The event, which ran from 11am to 3pm, was a seamless, uninterrupted 4 hours of fun.
Face painting once again was in steady demand and though it has been a feature at the Santa Day celebrations for a number of years the novelty never wears off. From the moment the stencils and colours were laid out, children lined up in an endless stream until the day was over. The face painting line up is rivaled only by the line-up for Santa.
With relatively mild temperatures, those waiting for the sleigh rides were relaxed and undaunted by the weather. The children played around until the sleigh did the circuit before coming back to pick up a new troop of kids, many of which were repeat customers.
If needing to catch their breath from running around the kids could sit and make crafts at tables set up on stage.
When Santa arrived to bell ringing and much fanfare, the kids waited for him to take his seat at the Christmas tree before lining up in an orderly fashion to receive a gift and have a word with the big man.
Once sure he had taken care of every child, Santa, being heavily dressed and used to a colder environment was anxious to leave the well heated hall and continue on his travels.
Santa’s departure did not end the gift giving as the kids received numerous door prizes just before they were rounded up for the journey home.