SANTA TRAIN - 2011

After hours and hours of preparation, and an hour and a half waiting, the Santa Train rolled into town yesterday. Even tho there were numerous Santa imitators around on Saturday, we had the real deal at our train station! Cookies, popcorn, and hot chocolate were available, free to the public, served graciously by our wonderful volunteers.

This year, our station had a nice clean spot for Santa and Company, a "living room" of sorts, a clean floor to sit on, spare furniture from my barn, a rug from my kitchen, and the tent to mark the space, control the lighting, and a tree and train (of course) under the tree. There is also the required milk and cookies, er, cookie with a bite taken out of it, and a fern hanging to hide the wiring and plugs. Stage Craft 204. Who'd believe that class would still pay off almost 50 years later? At the other stops along the track, Santa greets the kids outside the train, and I hear mob control is difficult. We were very orderly and well mannered here.

Some kids brought a list that took several pages. This one was 4 pages long... These girls were having a Santa Birthday Party . Some admitted that had been mostly kinda good... but, "well, I had a slip or two, Santa."

Some were older, some were very young. All were precious. Santa and Mrs Claus, his helpers, and our motley crew! Happy Holidays from the SPOTS Board of Directors.