During the last few days I have had the pleasure of attending several events where Santa was present. Now one would think that with Christmas being just a few days away he would be too busy to travel around Hartselle, Al. But I guess he has the elves working really hard and who knows maybe he has automated some of the toy production at the North Pole.

With all of the electronic toys and gadgets that kids request for Christmas now I would be willing to bet Santa also has an Amazon Prime account as well. Fed-X most likely drops off the packages by plane down to the North Pole, in plenty of time before the Christmas Eve big delivery day by jolly Old St. Nick.

During his annual visit to Hartselle  the Christmas Parade, folks lined up as far as five and six deep along the parade route. Even with the beautiful floats, bands, little children waving and singing carols, nothing compared to the smiles on the faces of those in attendance like Santa himself. From young and old alike, smiles broke out on faces and folks could be seen waving and returning his Merry Christmas, as he made his way through downtown atop his sleigh. Regardless of age very few ever get tired of seeing Santa Claus.

I am not sure if he stayed overnight in Hartselle last Thursday, but he was out bright and early on Friday morning with a full day of visiting all of the pre-k classes at Crestline, Barkley Bridge and Burleson. If you want to see a child’s face light up let Santa walk into a classroom and the wonder and amazement of that moment is almost magical.

The children were all happy to crowd around Santa and have a group photo made with him and most even were more than happy to sit on his knee and share with him what they would like to have him leave under their Christmas tree. The kids in pre-k also were able to make special reindeer food that they will leave out for all of the reindeer on Christmas Eve as they stop by their homes.

There is no doubt that kids love Christmas and they love Santa Claus. He represents something innocent and special and most of us can remember when we were young and how excited we would get to see him.

Santa does not take away from the true meaning of Christmas, he simply is a part of the celebration that we all enjoy and that allows all us to be taken back into a time in our lives when life was simple, we did not have any worries and all was good inside our world.

Perhaps seeing Santa allows us to find again the comfort and peace that we felt in days long past, and seek to find again in our busy and hectic lives.

Randy Garrison is the president and publisher for the Hartselle Enquirer.