Santa House

There were two very prominent families who established my town and one of their houses still stand today and is exactly 100 years old this year. It is a beatiful 2 story home with lots of rooms and lots of antiques orginal to the house. It is for this reason they put on a Santa House every year through the house and the money goes toward the upkeep and personel of the musuem/house.

My children and I knew nothing of this wonderful event until this year while scrolling through the emails, a wonderful opportunity to volunteer showed itself within the pages. We promptly put our names in to volunteer for the Santa House. The Santa House puts on a play and also has a bitty part of introducing them to some of the children that used to live there (by actors) and then they meet Santa (elves are walking them through the house making sure tiny little hands are nice and not naughty) and then onto the kitchen to make a cookie. After the cookie, the elves bring them to the carraige house to participate in making a craft which is the end of the tour.

As I said we all volunteered for 4 of the many days this production goes on. Sarah volunteered to be the Tin Soldier, who so proudly puts out a fire in the toy shop. Isabella is a china doll in the toy shop named Mimi and she also portrays the youngest of the children of the house, Sybil. She comes down the beautiful stairs still in her pj's and looks in her stocking, stomps her foot and disappointedly climbs back up the stairs because Santa has not come yet to fill their stockings. Zech and I volunteered with the crafty bunch. We have helped at least 100 by now kindergarteners and preschoolers make a snowman ornament for their tree.

It has been a wonderful volunteer job for all of us and we are having so much fun. We have two more days next week and then we are through with this experience. We are all so very thankful for the fun we have had the lives we could touch through this. One teacher in particular after I said, "Merry Christmas" promptly corrected me and said, "We say Happy Holidays." Now many of you who know me, know that didn't settle correctly and therefore I promptly told her, "No, Merry Christmas!" I said it over 5 times before the children had to leave! We celebrate Christ birthday not a holiday! Not sure I touched her with the message more than I touched her with a nerve, but I'll say it again, "Merry Christmas!"