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Saturday was a special day for us at the Chronicle as we tried our hand at
a hometown promotion of Small Business Saturday. My editor, Pat Reilly,
had been talking about doing something special downtown during Small
Business Saturday for many months, asking us for ideas, input and our
presence to make the whole event work.
We all had big ideas but since it would be the first year to put something
like this together, we settled on a few smaller events, like bringing Santa to
town for photos and organizing a free Christmas movie, sponsored by the
Dodge Theatre.
The day turned out more wonderful than we expected. The sun was shining
and the temperatures were very pleasant. At 10:00 a.m., a half hour
before the free movie began, a steady stream of children and their families
filtered into the theatre, enjoying popcorn, snacks and soda. Their eyes
gleamed as they noticed Santa sitting in the lobby. Some even admired our
"elf" head bands.
Although I enjoyed the whole day, there was one special moment we all
got to witness that Saturday. Some children came in to get their picture
taken with Santa, and their parents had a very special request.
Last September, the family had gone through the terrible loss of a child.
The baby was only six months old and did not get to experience his first
Christmas. It has been hard to explain this to the family's four year old son.
That morning before the family went to see Santa, the four year old
approached his mother and asked if he could take a toy along to see Santa.
He wanted to give it to Santa and ask if he could make a special trip to
heaven to deliver his baby brother a Christmas present.
With absolute faith in Santa, the parents approached and asked if Santa
could do this one favor for them. Of course, Santa said he could.
A phone call and Facebook message to the Chronicle reiterated the thankfulness
the family had in making Christmas feel like Christmas again for
the young boy.
"My son's eyes lit up leaving the senior center today," the mother wrote.
"It meant the world to my family."
This moment is something I will never forget and I'm sure I will think of
it around Christmas time for years to come.
Do something special for someone this Christmas. It is totally worth it.