Week 51 - Christmas Festival

Almost no one local would call it as such, but there is a strong sense of philanthropy in Peril County and the majority of Central Appalachia as a whole. Some of the old folks and the ladies who wear big hats to church say that it is having what they call “A Servants Heart.” After six months working in the area, Blair Montgomery had seen this firsthand, but never so much as this week. 

The Peril County Community Help Center ran toy drives for years when founder Alberta Gulch started the charity. Hundreds of children who may not expect much under their Christmas trees would be ensured something special from Santa. The program had died out several years earlier when Mrs. Gulch passed. But Blair had decided that this was one project worth bringing back. She had spent the last six months working to find areas where community needs could be met and ensuring community kids had a good holiday season was an easy box to click. 

To distribute the toys, Blair had organized something she thought would be very special. Mr. Peterson had agreed to play Santa and every child from infant to thirteen would meet the jolly old fat man and receive a toy. She had arranged live music, hot cocoa and cookies and a couple of elves to help out. 

They started lining up an hour before the scheduled start time. In thirty minutes, they stretched halfway down Main Street. Blair pulled into the parking lot of the Help Center, astonished at what she saw. Many children in threadbare shirts, misfitting jackets, and a few in open-toed shoes. “Glad we partnered with the clothing drive on this,” she thought to herself as she parked. 

The far side of the Help Center’s parking lot was transformed into a pretty decent facsimile of Santa’s Workshop, with a table for “making” toys that Mr. Peterson would stand behind as a photo op, a snack station for treats, and a section for the folks from Black Grass Baptist to hand out the packages of clothes. Besides a toy, every child would be receiving a shirt, pants, coat, and shoes. And finally, at the end, Jordyn Nelson was setting up a small PA system for her performance. 

“Do I have to wear this?” an exasperated voice asked from the corner of the building. Kyle Smith was pleading with his mother to not wear his green elf’s costume, to no avail. 

Blair heard the teen’s sister mock him as she walked into the building. “Your legs are gonna look great in those candy-striped tights, Kyle!” 

Inside the office, she checked to make sure all people and materials were where they needed to be. The real pine tree in the corner needed water desperately, so she took care of that as well. A knock on her office door shocked Blair just a bit. She looked over to see two young women, about her age, standing in the hall. One was a squat, round-faced Latina with short hair. Her companion was tall with brown, curly hair that fell to her shoulders. Kentucky Blue glasses sat on her crooked nose. They were both smiling. 

“Can I help you ladies?” Blair asked. 

“Hi, I’m Donna and this is my partner, Lou. We heard about the event and wanted to see if you need any volunteers?” 

Blair shot a smile at both of them. “Oh, you are just lifesavers! The church was supposed to send some extra folks to pass out clothes, and I didn’t see them when I walked it. Would you care to help on the gift line?”

Lou nodded her head. “Anything you need, we’ll help.”

The three walked back outside. Kyle was still protesting his red and white stockings, but they were now on his legs. Blair walked her two new friends to the clothing drive station. “Every child gets a set of cloths, a jacket and shoes. We have enough for five hundred and I think we’re gonna get that many by the look of it.” Lou and Donna made their way behind the table and started familiarizing themselves with the layout. 

“Blair, honey, what time do you want me to start singing?” 

Jordyn Nelson had a guitar strapped around her shoulders and a black and green boggan on her head.

Blair checked her watch. “Now is as good a time as any. Make sure you stay warm, now.” 

It wasn’t three minutes before the pretty lady with the guitar was singing old carols and traditional Christmas songs. Her voice was strong and clear and folks in the crowd couldn’t help but sing along. 

The gates were opened, and families began streaming into the parking lot. Blair had anticipated a decent crowd, but this was well beyond her wildest dreams. Putting up partitions to direct traffic had been a very wise decision as the herd of bodies made their way thru the Peril County version of the North Pole.

Natasha Jenkins and her three little ones were the first in line. They had been standing in the cool December air for over ninety minutes to see Santa. She was a younger woman, no older than thirty, with bleached blonde hair, light skin and freckles. Her three kids, two girls and a boy, had all inherited their mother's hair and skin tone and the baby had her freckles. They were all dressed in clean, if misfitting clothes. The children’s shoes were worn thin in several places.

Blair snagged a cookie from Kyle at the hot cocoa stand. “Thank you for coming,” she told the young mother. “I know Santa has some special stuff for you guys!” she said, looking down at the young children. 

“Oh, thank you all for doin’ this,” Natasha replied. “This is real nice. I remember Mrs. Gulch doin’ stuff like this when I was a young’un.” 

The mother was missing several teeth, and those that were still there looked damaged and rotten. “Improve dental care!” Blair thought, making a mental note for future projects.

“Well, you guys fill up on cookies and cocoa and go get your picture with Santa. One of his elves will print you a couple copies before you leave.” She looked over to the opposite side of the parking lot to see Elmer Bowling, the IT specialist for City Hall, finishing his set up of camera equipment and digital printer. 

Natasha’s middle child, a girl of maybe nine, tugged on the hem of Blair’s coat. “Ms. Lady, can I ask you a question?” Her voice was sweet and gentle. 

“Of course,” she replied, bending down to get even with the child. 

The young girl ran her sleeve across her nose and sniffed hard. “My brother says that Santa isn’t real, and this is just some guy in a suit. And that we are just gettin’ stuff ‘cause we poor.”

“Bobby Jean!” Natasha scolded. She was clearly embarrassed. 

Blair looked up at the mother and gave a comforting smile then looked back to the little one. “Bobby Jean, is it? I have a secret for you. That man over there, in the red suite and bad white beard? Do you see him?”

She nodded.

“That’s not the real Santa. That’s my boss, Mr. Peterson. He is one of hundreds, maybe thousands of men and women who are Santa’s helper’s this time of year. Now, younger kids like your little sister might not know, so we all kind of play pretend that he is Santa. But the real Santa is too busy loading up the sleigh and getting the reindeer ready for Christmas Eve, right?” She bopped Bobby Jean on the nose, gently, getting the girl to giggle just a bit. 

Blair stood upright and pointed to the hot cocoa stand. “Why don’t you take your mama and the rest of your family over to get some cookies and hot chocolate?”

The little sandy-haired girl took her mother by the hand and darted toward the table decorated like a winter wonderland kitchen. Kyle and Janie were setting out trays of gingerbread men topped with green and red crystal sugar, sugar cookies with little snowmen painted on the top and chocolate covered pretzels made to look like a reindeer. Blair followed close behind, making sure the process was going to run smoothly. 

“Well, hey there!” Janie said as they approached. “We have cookies for you and your choice of hot cider, regular cocoa or spicy Mexican cocoa.” 

The oldest child, a boy of about twelve, pushed past his mother. “I’ll take the spicy one!” Kyle, still looking sullen in his elf costume, poured half a styrofoam cup full from a red pitcher and placed a large marshmallow on top before handing it to the boy. 

“SSSSSPPPPEEEEWWW!” He spit the chocolate concoction forcefully from his mouth. “Gross! This takes like dog piss!” 

Natasha, seemingly mortified at her son's actions, grabbed some paper towels from the side of the table and wiped off the table. “Garrett, you know better than that!” she scolded as she cleaned. 

“Oh, it’s fine,” Blair said as she ushered them next to Mr. Peterson. She shot a glance back to Kyle and Janie, who seemed to be fine and were welcoming the next group. 

“Santa” Peterson was standing behind the table with bins and bags surrounding him, all filled with toys. His unconvincing beard hung below his chin, showing his own salt and pepper goatee beneath. “Ho Ho Ho!” he chuckled. “Merry Christmas guys. What are your names?” 

Bobby Jean looked up at Mr. Peterson suspiciously and told the man his name. Garrett was too busy eyeing the boxes and bags filled with toys to pay Santa any mind. But it was the youngest who stared up in awestruck wonder. “My name Sally,” she said with a slight lisp. 

“And how old are you, little Ms. Sally?” Mr. Peterson asked. 

“Free,” she said, holding up three fingers. 

Mr. Peterson turned toward the bundles of toys and selected three grocery bag sized bundles. They were labeled “Toddler - G,” “Primary - G” and “Middle School - B.” He handed each of the children their own gift bag. “From the Peril County Community Help Center and all of the elves at the North Pole, it is my pleasure to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!” he said, smiling. 

The three kids took their bags, each thanking him in their own way. 

“We’re gonna keep the line movin’ Santa! Merry Christmas!” Blair said as she ushered the Jenkins family down toward the next station. 

Sally stopped and walked back to Santa. “Merrwy Chwistmas, Santa,” she said in a meek little voice, before turning toward her mother. 

Blair could see that Mr. Peterson was moved by the gesture as he wiped his eyes with a white gloved hand. 

The next station was for the clothing drive. Donna and Lou talked with Natasha on what size each of the kids wore in shoes and clothes before handing her a giant bag filled with things for the kids to wear. Donna did most of the talking and Lou did most of the lifting. 

After all the Jenkins family had collected bags filled with gifts, they made their way toward Jordyn Nelson sitting on a wooden stool. She was strumming her guitar as they approached. “Hey guys,” she said as they reached her. “This is one of my absolute favorites.”

Jordyn lead the Jenkins children, even Garrett, in the singing of Away in a Manger. Blair joined in as she scanned the parking lot. Dozens of families, with children ranging from in strollers to almost grown, were filling the space. No one seemed stressed or rushed. Her elves were working hard to make sure everyone got treats and had a wonderful experience.

“We really appreciate all of this. It means a lot,” Natasha said as the song ended. “Can you all tell Ms. Blair ‘Thank you!’ for me?” 

The three kids thanked her in a singsong chorus. “You are more than welcome,” she replied. 

The event went on for several hours and by the time the last cookie was handed out, only a handful of gift bags remained. “You done good work today, Blair,” Mr. Peterson said as he removed his Santa beard. 

“We did, sir. We all did.” 

Lou and Donna were organizing the remaining clothes, which consisted of a few baskets of infant clothes and some size 15 shoes. Kyle and Janie were starting to take down the North Pole decorations and throw out the last of the hot cocoa. There hadn’t been too many takers on the Hot Mexican variety besides Donna, who’d drank almost a pitcher by herself. Jordyn unplugged her guitar and loaded up to go home.

The sun hung low in the sky when Danny pulled into the parking lot. Almost all of the decorations were down and only Blair and Mr. Peterson remained. “Everything go ok?” he asked his fiancee.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest. For the first time today, she allowed herself to be tired. “We had over four hundred and eighty families come through. I think we really did some good,” she said.

“Blair, honey, I hate to run, but the Panthers have a JV basketball game in about fifteen minutes and I can’t miss it. I’m just gonna have to wear this Santa suit, cause I ain’t got time to change,” Mr. Peterson said as he walked toward his car.

She gave him a little hug. “Thank you, Mr. Peterson. You made a great Santa.”

He blushed a little. “It was fun. I think the kids liked it.”

“You ready to go?” Danny asked. “I think Mom’s got a big dinner fixed. May even have some stuff you can eat this time.”

She smiled up at him. “Merry Christmas, baby.”

He kissed her forehead, and they walked to the car.