by Kyle Reid
With Christmas just around the corner, it was a very busy weekend for Santa and Mrs. Claus, who were the guests of honour for the Town of Essex’s first-ever Breakfast with Santa held last Saturday.
The Town welcomed the couple for breakfast inside the Essex Centre Sport Complex’s Shaheen Community Room to the delight of children in attendance. Families enjoyed a pancake breakfast, the children shared holiday wish lists with Santa and Mrs. Claus and got a quick photo.
Mailboxes set up in the community room gave shyer children a chance to drop off their Christmas list to be mailed to the North Pole, with Santa writing a return letter for each one sent.
For a first-time event, the breakfast attracted quite a crowd, to the delight of Town staff, who helped organize the event. Sixty-five families showed up for the breakfast, well exceeding the expectation of 50 families.
“We were really excited and it’s great that we could accommodate the extras,” Jason Jolicoeur said, who is the Town’s Recreation Programs Assistant Manager.
Children were thrilled with the anticipation to whisper their Christmas morning wishes into Santa’s ear, while parents were able to relax with a no-stress breakfast and easy way to entertain their young ones.
“We want to start doing more events that get families out,” Jolicoeur said. “This was a natural fit.”
Jolicoeur said with the success and interest in this year’s event, he’s hoping to see the breakfast added to other long-running holiday traditions in Essex.
“It’s quite successful, so I think we’ll continue doing this,” Jolicoeur said.
Thanks to the success of the event, the Town will also organize a similar breakfast event in the spring near Easter, featuring mascots Petunia and Bloomer, with the addition of Easter-themed crafts.
All funds raised covered the overhead costs of running the event.
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