Santa Visits Ross Township; 230 Children Gather at Community Center

Even though it is his busiest time of year, St. Nick still had time to stop in for the 8th annual Christmas luncheon held at the on Saturday.

The event lasted from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., which gave all 230 children who attended the chance to meet the man himself.

The event was organized by the assistant parks and recreation director, Vickey Trader.

“I’m so used to doing this that it’s like second nature for me,” Trader said. She has been involved with the planning since the first one in 2004, when only 12 children attended.

Since then, not only has attendance swelled, but also the different activities and projects children can participate in during the day.

There were a variety of games to keep kids engaged and amused, such as a snowball toss, duck pond, candy sucker pull, wooden train table, and even a small penned in area for toddlers to explore.

“This is one of our new games this year, you have to help Santa fill his bag and throw the presents into Santa’s bag,” Trader explained as she picked up some tiny packages that had missed the mark.

In addition to games, there were also six different crafts kids could try, including a Christmas card wreath, a festive door hanger, and decorating a cutout tree.

Children look forward to expressing their creative side and getting glitter on their hands, Trader said.

The success of the event was evident from the gleeful squeals emitted by the children as they devoured their chicken, carrot, and tater tot lunch.

“We’ve been here a couple years, since they’ve been little,” said grandmother Eleanor Reubi. Her three grandchildren, Natalie, Nicole, and Rachel, who are ages 2, 4, and 6, sat around her digging through their treat bags.

But even with the extra entertainment, the allure of Santa still remained a top priority in the heart of the children.

When asked what her favorite part of the day was, five year-old Aalyiah Buskirk merely smiled and pointed one tiny finger to that red figure that represents the joy of the holidays.