Santa didn’t disappoint this Christmas in greeting children in Houston and area.
Instead of his traditional location at Home Hardware for photos and conversation, Santa and his helpers set up shop near the old schoolhouse at Steelhead Park.
“Santa stayed by the old school house in the park and waved at the children while the children stayed on the path over 6 ft away from Santa. We also encouraged masks with the exception of taking them off for the photo and also tried to keep the flow of families walking in a counterclockwise route along the path in the park. Thankfully we didn’t end up with too many families coming all at the same time,” said longtime Houston Santa visit organizer Laura Onderwater.
More than 20 families took advantage of the photo opportunity, a tradition that’s been in place now for more than 10 years.
Families then received the photos electronically and were told prints could be made at Countrywide Printing.
“We also put out an ad for personalized Santa messages to be sent via Facebook Messenger and we had over 40 children participate in that,” said Onderwater.
“We have been overwhelmed by the support in Houston and we are thankful that we have been able to continue our tradition this year with Santa albeit in a little less than traditional way,” she added.