Lots of fun at the annual Santa Party at the AJMC

The Allan & Jean Millar Centre was filled with more fun than usual recently as the staff decorated for the annual Santa Party. The fieldhouse was transformed into a creative space with tons of interactive games like mini putt, tower smash, and giant building blocks. Town of Whitecourt Recreation Co-ordinator Emma Harper said she was very happy to see so many families out for the event.

This year, they added a couple of different things to change things up. “The first addition was the Santa Store with the Boys and Girls Club. It was a bit of a fundraiser option for them and something different for us to offer.

The first room on the left at the entrance of the AJMC was closed to everyone except children looking to shop. After paying $5 at the door, they could enter the room and pick out a gift. There were a few different options such as frames, mugs, notebooks, and small cookie jars. Helper elves wrapped the gifts.

“We’ve had great feedback from parents stating that it’s nice to be able to shop local, not have to worry about where their kids are going and knowing that the money is coming back into the community. We had a lot of fun as staff creating these gifts. It was a team building experience for us and it was a nice chance for us to put ourselves in the kid’s shoes and what we would want to buy our moms and dads for Christmas or even our brothers and sister,” said, Executive Director Baranowski.

She said they brought in 150 gifts for purchase since it is a trial run this year but if things go well, they are looking to go all out next year. “We are thankful for the support from the community to be able to put this on.” Another new thing that was added to the Santa Party was glitter tattoos. For much of the two-hour event the line for the tattoos was halfway across the fieldhouse as children eagerly awaited their turn.

ParentLink had a craft area set up with Christmas-themed crafts for parents and children to do together and there was also a Letters to Santa station. “It’s exciting when you plan a big event like this and lots of people come. It’s fun for all of us. We get to dress up and have fun with everyone,” said Harper. Just outside the fieldhouse sat the big guy himself, posing for pictures and giving out goodie bags.

Santa enjoyed sneaking a couple of Timbits from a table nearby and washing them down with hot chocolate both donated by Tim Hortons. “I think overall attendance has been really good for family events. That’s something that we pride ourselves on being able to offer frequently. It’s good that the community seems to like it,” said Harper. “Thank you to everyone who came. It’s great to see so many people out enjoying activities in our community. We hope everyone has a happy holiday and a merry Christmas.”