Santa almost didn’t make it to breakfast because Blitzen had “blown a hoof.”
When he didn’t show up to the Breakfast with Santa event at the Creekside Seniors Centre Dec. 3, everyone was getting anxious.
Thankfully, South Cariboo Chamber of Commerce president Donna Barnett managed to get a hold of him.
“He’s been held up but he’s on his way,” she reassured the crowd.
When he finally walked through the door, he was surrounded by children, screaming “Santa.” He later explained Blitzen had “blown a hoof” and Mrs. Claus was taking care of the reindeer with cold compresses.
Bruce Madu, of the 100 Mile & District Arts Council, said while they didn’t see as many families as hoped, likely because of the cold weather, the event was a success. Eighteen families braved the cold to come out.
‘‘It was fabulous. After three years of not being able to have one, it is like we’re starting all over again because we didn’t know what to expect,” he said.
“I think there probably could have been another 50 to 100 people there but the weather held them back.”
The day started with a pancake breakfast, cooked by the 100 Mile Lions.
In the kitchen, Karen Findlay was aided by Tammie Ozanne and her grandson Sylas, as they whipped pancakes for the crowd. They went through 15 boxes of pancake mix. Sylas was the youngest volunteer and bustling about serving meals, clearing and helping in any way he could.
When it came time to get a photo with Santa, the kids couldn’t wait to greet the big man in red. Erik Lundsbye, 4, handed him a drawing he made especially for him. Santa gave him a big hug and carefully folded up the drawing before tucking it down the front of his suit.
Santa photos for each family were donated by Monika Paterson Photography.
The event raised $400 for the Arts Council. The funds came from donations at the door and the raffling of four gift baskets provided by Pharmasave. The gift baskets were valued at about $100 each.
Additional sponsors included RE/MAX 100 Mile, which donated $350 and covered most of the event costs. FreshCo provided the juice boxes and sausages while Save-On-Foods supplied the pancake mix, coffee, creamers and syrup.
The 100 Mile House Cruzers Car club had booked the hall and allowed them to use it rent-free for the breakfast.
