As the children, who are a part of the daycare at Highland, sit quietly on the floor, they are anxiously awaiting his arrival. Finally, after what seems like an eternity for the little kids, they hear the expected “Ho, Ho, Ho!” coming from the hallway. All the kids look at each other with looks of excitement as Santa Claus walks into the room.  

He comes in with a hearty smile and a bag full of gifts for each child. Santa digs into his bag and starts calling up children to have them tell him what they want for Christmas and to get their gift from him. Surprisingly, a majority of the kids are totally fine with going up to Santa and sitting on his lap. They aren’t scared at all; they love him!

There are always those one or two kids who are hesitant at first, but they quickly warm up. One girl was called very first out of everyone, and didn’t want to go up quite yet. After a few of the other kids went up and got their gifts, she saw it wasn’t so bad after all and ultimately sat on Santa’s lap.

Each child loved getting their gift from Santa and couldn’t wait to open it after everyone had gotten one. Once everyone had a chance to sit on Santa’s lap, the kids were finally allowed to rip open their present Santa had gotten them.

When asked what Santa brought them, one of the kids said, “He got me a coloring book!”

Santa visiting the daycare is a tradition that all the kids look forward to each year, because he has been coming for many years. The anticipation the kids felt as Santa first walked in, the look on their faces as they were opening their gifts, and the happiness that was exchanged between Santa and the child when Santa would tell the child, “Merry Christmas!” makes everything all worth it.

The director of the daycare said, “It’s cute, the kids love it.”

Although the children may have to wait until next year to see Santa again, they can hold onto their memories of their visit with him this week and keep those close to their heart as they start planning what they want for Christmas 2017 at the start of the new year.