Smiles Abound as Santa and Mrs. Claus Come to Town for Annual Event

Nick Parlin and his wife liked Lititz so much that just two months after driving through downtown, they moved here from east Tennessee. Today, Parlin was on hand at Lititz Elementary School for Merry Lititz Christmas with two of his children, son Jude, age 5, and daughter Delia, 4.

“We just moved to Lititz and we heard all sorts of great things about this event,” said Parlin. His wife, Dawn, was at home with their 7-month old son, Pacey, while he and the kids made the rounds at Merry Lititz Christmas.

“This is a great way to kick off the Christmas season,” he said, “and it’s a great way to have the kids come out and do something fun for free.”

Jude and Delia had just won prizes at the fishing derby, their favorite part of the event so far. Jude was happy with the “furry dog” that he fished for, and Delia was pleased with her “catch.”

“I got a tiger wearing a bow,” she said, then announced plans to name her new critter “Furry.”

“We’ve had an amazing time and are full of the Christmas spirit now,” said Parlin, before they headed off to the line to receive hand-twisted balloon animals.

Abigail Reed, 4, was already admiring the balloon horse she just received, made before her eyes in her favorite colors: ““Blue, pink, purple.”

“It’s a great event, and the kids are having a great time,” said mom Stacy Reed, who brought Abigail and her 2-year-old sister Maggie “to be able to enjoy the Christmas festivities, sit on Santa Claus’ lap and be able to enjoy some of the food, festivities, and crafts.”

And speaking of crafts, members of the Warwick High School Interact club were busy serving as elves during the event, painting children’s faces, facilitating art stations, and handing out gift boxes.

There was plenty of food to enjoy, from the flavors of Mike Gregor’s homemade Greco’s Ice Cream to samples of the best kept beer secret in Lititz, the Appalachian Brewing Company’s delicious non-alcoholic root beer.

As for Abigail, she had a favorite festivity: “I liked picking out candy,” she said. There was a lollipop tree in a kaleidoscope of colors and flavors, and candy canes galore. The event even ended with a candy scramble.

Some families scrammed before the scramble, but not before reflecting on the fun they had at the entertaining shows.

“They were laughing hysterically,” said mom Lisa Hykes of how her two oldest children enjoyed the magic show. Son Noah, 6, was “just the right age” to understand what was going on, and daughter 3-year old Emma enjoyed the performance as well.

“They loved it,” Hykes said. “It was the best to see their smiles.” The Hykes family rested on benches in the hallway and listened to the soothing sounds of beautiful harp music provided by the Ryeland Harp Ring, featuring Cindy DePietro, Cathy Sauber, Diane Kadyk, and Linda Blazer.

Just down the hall, 7-year old Rya McKain was on a mission: to find a book to take home. Every child who comes to Merry Lititz Christmas gets to select a book to keep and Rya, who attends the school where the event was held, selected The Little Whale “because I like non-fiction books,” she said. For her, it was the best part of the day, “because I love books.”

“It’s wonderful to see their faces when the book matches the child,” said Karen Davis, president of the Lititz Area Kiwanis, who was overseeing the children selecting the gently used books, which looked brand new.

“The Kiwanis mission is serving the children of the world in our communities and everywhere, and this is just a wonderful way to get books into kids’ hands.”

But while some enjoyed entertainment, food, and books, almost all came with one goal in mind: to see a couple of visitors from the North Pole.

“We came so Benjamin and Samuel can have their first time with Santa,” said Priscilla Gilburg, surrounded by family who had just snapped photos as the two young boys got to spend quality time with Santa and Mrs. Claus. The Gilburg’s had learned of the event from sister-in-law Beth Andrew, a former resident of Lititz.

Santa had some pretty stiff competition this year, though, in the form of another pair of cold-weather citizens: Frozen’s Queen Elsa and Princess Anna, who were especially popular with the little girls. Real-life counterparts to the movie characters read two books to the large group of children who surrounded them.

In the adjacent auditorium, local favorite Jesse Rothacker of Forgotten Friends Reptile Rescue delighted children with snakes, lizards, tortoises, and a host of cold-blooded creatures.

Some families came in from the cold on the rainy day after visiting downtown merchants, toting bags filled with goodies from local businesses who were also taking part in the Merry Lititz Christmas spirit. A local Boy Scout troop had a popular stand selling funnel cakes on Main St.

Lynn Rebuck writes about events for LititzDailyNews.com. She welcomes your comments and questions at [email protected].