Santa Claus’ sleigh landed early this year to greet families and kickstart the holiday spirit with cookies, hot chocolate and other festive activities last Saturday at the Valencia Town Center.
The “Welcome Santa Celebration” was a free community event where children of all ages and their families participated in a Santa meet and greet, wrote letters to Santa, and activated their creativity through arts and crafts.
“We want to embrace the community at the Valencia Town Center, we want to show them that the mall is here, we are open, and we’ve got all kinds of events that are going to be happening throughout the holidays,” said Monique Arakelian, marketing manager for the Valencia Town Center.
Four-year-old Jaxon Schulz was covered in green frosting from a cupcake he was indulging in as his mother, Hilary Schulz, helped him write his letter to Santa. His older sister Paislley, 9, was also taking part in the activities.
Jaxon didn’t fully ask for gifts in his letter, said Hilary, but focused on wishing Santa a Merry Christmas, she said, “Which is really cute. It wasn’t all about him.”
Paislley asked for a cat for Christmas, because “I’ve always wanted one but my dad didn’t allow it,” she said, but was optimistic this year her wish would be granted.
The Schulz family plans on welcoming their oldest son back home for the holidays from Kansas, where he is currently stationed with the United States Marines, and spend time together as a family, Hilary added.
Priscilla Sandoval was also happily participating in the fun with her little one, 3-year-old Daniel, and her husband.
Daniel took a big step this year and happily greeted Santa for the first time. In previous years, Daniel was usually scared, Priscilla said. The Sandoval family made their way to the mall on Saturday so Daniel could participate in the “Write a letter to Santa” activity.
In the letter Daniel asked for a monster truck toy car, Priscilla added.
The Sandoval family is looking forward to the holidays to spend time with family and possibly take a trip to Solvang, she added.
Throughout all the fun, Arakelian was on the train trolley duties, and took children on a ride throughout the mall, fully geared up in Christmas attire.
