I’ve seen my fair share of Santa Claus parades, but never had I been in one.
Until this past Friday in Chatham.
We folks at The Chatham Voice took part in the parade, and had a blast. We were a late entry so we had to scramble to be ready. But once we opted to decorate my truck, the organized folks in the office went to work. Mary Beth gathered up the required decorations, combining stuff we had at home with items snagged at local stores, while Tricia, Fatima and Michelle rallied the elves to come out in support.
When the day of the parade arrived, we put together the decor, to the point of having “snow” down either side of the pickup, plus bows, lights, you name it. I had garland running down my antenna and across the front of the windshield, lit stars hanging off the back of the cab, and a reflective Santa hat hanging off the front grille.
When it was time to head to the marshalling area, I left with the truck while the others brought the young folks who would walk the parade route with them and hand out candy and “I Read the Voice” stickers.
I got about 500 metres from the office, driving slowly, and realized the decorations were getting blown all over the place. I had to stop and essentially dump the side decorations into the back of the truck before continuing on.
We got it all set back up in time for the start of the parade, and our elves were bursting with enthusiasm.
As we started rolling, we passed a few folks set up to watch outside their homes in the marshalling area on Sandys Street, but then we crossed Grand Avenue that’s when the crowd got really thick, and enthusiastic. It at first felt weird replying to shouts of “Merry Christmas” more than a month before Christmas, but the spirit soon took over. How couldn’t it when the youngest daughter of our graphic designer was seated in the back of the truck, waving happily and periodically shouting, “Merry Christmas!”
Incredibly cute. Then again when she and another young elf began singing “Jingle Bells” at the top of their lungs, it was pretty classic and cute too.
We waved to, smiled at, greeted and candy-fied many kids – young and old – along the route that night, and I must say it was pure fun to be part of the parade. All too soon, we pulled into the WISH Centre, the terminus.
I took two elves back to the office to remove all the decorations. But when I got up Saturday morning and looked out the front window, greeting me was a sparkly Santa hat still strapped to my truck’s grille. I left it there through the weekend. In fact, as I type this, it’s still there. Next time I have to hit the highway, I’ll have to take it off. But in the meantime, it’s a nice reminder of a very fun evening, thanks to the spectators of the parade and the great folks with whom I have the pleasure of working.
