When children visit with Santa in the weeks before Christmas to deliver their wish lists, they always have a lot of questions. How many elves are at the North Pole? What are the names of your reindeer? What kind of cookies do you like? But one question that Santa doesn’t get very often: will you come to my birthday party?
That’s the question 4-year old Claire Thornquist posed to at least one of the Santas she visited last December. And Santa said that he would try.
Fast forward three months, and little Claire was helping plan her 5th birthday party, to be held at Northern Hemisphere Gymnastics on Barrett Rd. When it was time to put the invitation list together, it naturally included lots of school and neighborhood friends. But it was missing one special person.
“We didn’t know she was going to remember and hold us to that,” Claire’s mother Jennifer said. “But when it was time to do the list for her party, she said, ‘You’re forgetting about Santa. He said he was coming.’ So I really had to make it happen.”
Jennifer’s first thought was that since Santa has a lot going on off-season, they might not be able to find one who had time for them. Tracking down that one Santa who had said yes would not be easy. Then a friend put her in touch with Webster’s very own Santa Jim, known very well in the village for his appearances at the Village Hall and in the Parade of Lights during Winter Wonderland.
“He was more than gracious and actually said that he could squeeze us into his schedule,” Jennifer said, “so I wasn’t going to get worried until it was time to get worried.”
But even though this particular Santa was not the one to hear Claire’s original request, he would not disappoint her. Because Santa always keeps his word.
So on Saturday, March 23, Santa took a break from working with his elves at the North Pole to make a cameo appearance at Claire’s birthday party. Jennifer was a bit concerned that some of the kids would be confused or even scared to see Santa off-season. But she needn’t have been worried. When they saw Santa come down the hall, every single one of the party guests forgot about the birthday cake in front of them and swarmed around the jolly old elf.
And of course, Claire’s face lit up with the biggest smile as she ran to give Santa a huge hug.
Santa’s visit was short, only about 15 minutes, but it was enough time for him to give Claire a very memorable gift — a large silver bell, the first gift of Christmas — and to give every child some individual attention. It was an unforgettable birthday indeed, thanks to a Santa who strives to make every child feel special.
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(posted 3/27/2024)
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brought tears to my eyes! Thank you!
Aw, thanks!
wonder story, glad to here “Santa Keeps His Word”. Thank you for sharing.
Your story made my heart smile. Am very grateful that you as well took time out too to share my granddaughters birthday. It was a very special day for my daughter too as every parent tries their best to make their children’s wishes come true. Thank You, Mimi Diane
Oh, thank you so much for your kind comment. I’m so glad this very special event turned out so well for everyone. It was a real pleasure being there.