Santa Claus Comes To Town!!

You certainly can't say the Elks don't do things for their members.  It's like one big family.  There's even Uncle Joe who's always grouchy and Brother Bill who drinks too much!!

At Christmas, anyone who is a member and has grandchildren (or children under 8) gets to attend Kids Christmas.  "Please remember to register them ahead of time" ... which some always forget to do.

It was quiet and dark when I arrived at 11:30.  How nice to see it was already set up.  Too bad I didn't see the coffee pot in the corner, but that will show up later.  I waited for someone to arrive ... did I get the right date??

At long last, the cookies arrived with Clint, who wagon masters this event.  Just to show you the dedication, Clint just got out of the hospital two weeks ago after open heart surgery ... the second in two years.  I grabbed the bag of cookies and quickly went to work.  

Nine trays of cookies didn't look like enough when I learned there were 120 people expected.  When the Castle Lawyer arrived, we had a quick meeting in the back room.  She made a trip to a nearby grocery store for six more bags ... just in case.

In no time, we were full to the brim with kids, parents and grandparents.  Here's where the coffee part comes in ... no one pushed the ON button.  Grandparents were surrounding the table looking for something to keep them awake!!  I never drink that percolated kind of black stuff that kills my stomach, so I never gave it a thought.  I pushed the button ... we'll wake you when it's done.  Notice the red and green lights overhead, flashing like neon on Santa's sleigh!!

We mixed up two huge containers of hot chocolate ... Nestle's to be exact, and boy is it good!!  I kept an eye on the table until the appointed time for snacking to begin.  Except wait .... Santa needs help getting in to his duds.  There's no padding in that suit ... it's all Santa, who can't bend over to get his boots on!!

I helped Santa down the back staircase, since the glasses he wears are ones he found and NOT his prescription, meaning he's blind as can be.  I rang the little bell loudly to announce his presence as the Beach Boys sang Santa Claus is coming to town.   

That's when I immediately spotted a long line at the snack table, all getting the hot chocolate and whipped cream that wasn't supposed to be served yet!!  OH NO ... as one Mom filled her kids hot chocolate cup to the brim with whipped cream!!

I shanghaied one of our Grampa Bingo helpers into watching the table while I set up the cookies and ice cream.  That's when I discovered HE was one of those who forgot to register his 6 month old grand baby for a present.  BAD Grampa!!!  I made a quick trip to the stage and slipped into the storeroom where I knew there were extra presents.   

I scrounged through the boxes until I came up with B/G 18.  That's a present for a boy or girl, up to 18 months of age.  Perfect!!  I wrote her name on the label and added it to the tree.  Weren't they surprised when Santa called her name!!  It was a Christmas miracle ... Santa knew she was there, which really was a miracle since Santa had already hit the leftover eggnog from last nights party.  He swore he only had one.

In the end, all the cookies disappeared along with four gallons of ice cream.  At least we didn't ply them with even more sugar ... we left the sodas in the machine and only served water or hot chocolate.  Everyone had a great time!!  I think the grandparents liked it more than the kids!!

After a quick trip around with the dishwashing bucket and bagging up some of the leftover cookies that really needed to go in the trash, I headed back home to the puppies.  Somehow I think Cooper got in the cookies, because he was wired to the max.  Time for a little puppy play!!