With Parade Canceled, Santa is Still Eager to Connect With Meridian Kids

It's official. 2020's Grinch has bagged the Meridian Winter Lights Parade and tree lighting ceremony. Santa is absolutely crushed that he won't get to greet the kids at the end of the parade this year, so he gave the elves a very, very important task. 

That task? Find a way to meet with these kiddos one-on-one somehow. It wasn't an easy task, considering Santa kicks it old school (he still keeps track of the naughty and nice list by paper and pen) but the elves have taught him to master the art of Zoom! He'll be logging on during select dates in December for 3-4 minute calls with kids ages 4-12.

Reservations are required to chat with Santa and you can click HERE to set a time for your child to tell Santa what's on their wish list this year. When filling out the reservation form, Meridian's lead elf has some extra questions for parents to answer to make Santa's visit with their kids super magical.

The elves have gone the extra to make sure that all families reserving a time have access to the internet. There's free wi-fi access available in the parking lot at City Hall if families don't have access to connect to Zoom from their own homes.

Between calls, Santa's planning to read and reply to every single letter kids send him through the mailbox the elves are setting up at City Hall by November 25! Kids can stop by to drop off their letter to Santa anytime after the mailbox appears thru December 17. Santa's really looking forward to finding out what he needs the elves to build to make it a Merry Christmas for Meridian kids, but also hopes the little ones will tell him about what makes them smile or what their favorite Christmas treat is...after all, Santa's a Christmas cookie aficionado! Kids who leave a clear return address in their letters can expect a reply from him!

Meridian's also working on a way to send the fun of their annual Children's Winterland celebration home through craft kits. Those details will be shared HERE soon.