There have been many Santa Claus Day events in Outlook over the years that have been enjoyable for so many people, but the 2016 edition may go down in the history books as having the most to offer and making the biggest impact from a “making memories” perspective, particularly in the eyes and the smiling faces of the younger generations.
Held on Saturday, December 3, many people woke up, put on something warm and headed over to the Outlook & District Museum, where many of the key events of the day were held. By the time noon rolled around, a large lineup had formed outside the museum doors as people waited for the Man in Red to show up. Sure enough, along came Santa Claus, riding on a horse-driven wagon along with Mark Gross and greeting his public outside the doors of the building. With a bit of a chill in the air starting to form, many were eager to get inside the museum and warm up, particularly with the assistance of some hot chocolate and fresh-baked goodies. However, Santa’s “reindeer”, in the form of two magnificent black horses, proved to be popular both before and after the sleigh rides offered around town all afternoon.
Inside the North Pole studio in the museum, Santa was greeted by a steady stream of kids and families who wanted to take a picture with him. No matter the age, Claus met them all; whether it was a fellow senior citizen or a three-month old, chubby-cheeked little girl who was experiencing her first Christmas season and all it had to offer.
The photos with Santa were free to the public, but a request for donations to the Outlook & District Food Bank went very much answered, as the red box in the museum began to quickly fill up throughout the afternoon.
Elsewhere around town, there was plenty to do and see in order to enjoy Santa Claus Day. Over at the Legion Hall, a good turnout of people came out to play Christmas Bingo for prizes, and of course, it wouldn’t be Santa Claus Day without a screening at the Reel Theatre, and audiences enjoyed ‘How The Grinch Stole Christmas’. As well, a scavenger hunt that began at the museum led participants around town following a set of clues in order to claim the prize of a gift basket that included items from businesses and organizations all around Outlook.
No matter how one managed to spend the day, what many people were looking forward to by the time 6:00 rolled around was the lighting of the first-ever community Christmas tree on the front lawn of the museum. Many people who earlier had been at the museum to see Santa had made the return trip to see the tree makes it holiday debut, and Michael Stushnoff of the Outlook Chamber of Commerce led everyone in a countdown from ten before the tree was lit up in a flash of bright blue, as well as the surrounding museum property. A few carols even managed to ring out over the night sky, including ‘Frosty the Snowman’ and ‘Jingle Bells’, before a number of people came up to the tree and hung candy canes over some branches.
With a full day of activities that kept families entertained and produced hundreds of smiles, the Chamber of Commerce, as well as the participating businesses, organizations and tireless volunteers really went above and beyond the call of duty to make this year’s Santa Claus Day in Outlook a truly memorable one to look back on.
