It'€™s magical in Palmer

PALMER — Santa Claus may have an army of elves at the North Pole, but he also has plenty of little helpers in the Valley.

Local children kept warm and had fun Saturday helping to fill Santa’s sleigh, one of a handful of children’s games sponsored by CCS Early Learning at the Colony Christmas Celebration. Outside the Palmer Train Depot, children loaded down with a full Santa bag of gifts, dashed from a starting line to the Jolly Old Elf’s sleigh. Once there, they unloaded the presents, loaded them back and returned to complete the relay.

“I haven’t figured out the best technique yet,” said Mark Lackey, CCS executive director. “I think the key is to dump the presents into the sleigh.”

That was the process that brought 5-year-old Palmer resident Kaitlyn Brooks in with a time of 2:07.56.

“It’s fun. You had to run and put (the presents) in the bag, then get them out of the sleigh and then put them back in the bag,” Kaitlyn said between mouthfuls of snow.

Although the relay was easy for her, Kaitlyn thinks Christmas Eve “is hard for him” with all the toys he has to carry around.

The children’s games were one of the popular stopping spots in downtown Palmer as dozens of Valley residents gathered to celebrate the holidays and enjoy the bright sunshine and balmy 8-degree weather.

“We’re new to Palmer and we just love this and the small town feeling,” said Trisha Pietila, who hails from Michigan. “The trees are all frosty and I think it’s gorgeous. It’s chilly, but if you bundle it’s nice.”

Pietila and her daughters Brenna, 3, and Katelyn, 2, enjoyed decorating their own Christmas cookies, petting Santa’s reindeer and visiting Kris Kringle himself.

When Brenna had her time on Santa’s lap, she told him she wanted “whatever” for Christmas.

After warming up at the depot with hot food and beverages from the local 4-H club, some Colony Christmas participants made their way north on S. Colony Way to pet a pair of Santa’s reindeer. Comet and Vixen usually stay with the 10 other members of Santa’s famous herd at Williams Reindeer Farm.

Four-year-old Mackenzie Barnes was fascinated by the large animals and their unique antlers.

“He’s soft,” she said after, at first tentatively, reaching out to pet Comet.

Although preparing for a long night of work on Christmas Eve, the reindeer are resting up now, said Jacob Fortman, a handler for the farm.

“They’re going to be really busy getting ready pretty soon,” he said. “They’ve just been resting up for the big night.”

Asked how Santa’s reindeer are able to manage the feat of flight, Fortman was a little less forthcoming.

“I couldn’t tell you that,” he said. “That’s a very deep, scientific secret I can’t even tell you. It’s a magical thing.”

An afternoon of holiday cheer caught up with 5-year-old Lucia Davidson, who took a particular shine to Comet and Vixen. But she did have one question.

“Where’s Rudolph?”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.