Santa entertains at tree-lighting

Santa said the reindeer are in flight training and are watching their waistlines.
& lt;a href=mailto:tullis@vindy.com & gt;By NANCY TULLIS & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
YOUNGSTOWN -- Not only did Santa Claus take time out from his hectic schedule to visit children in downtown Youngstown, he also sang, told jokes and showed off some cool dance moves.
Santa, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman were on Federal Plaza on Saturday to help usher in the Christmas season downtown.
The Christmas tree and thousands of white lights were lighted, bands played, and kids visited with Santa.
Lexxi Haluska, 4, of Austintown, drank hot chocolate and gave Santa her wish list. She was downtown with her mom, Liz Szmaj. Lexxi hopes to find Barbie and Bratz dolls under her tree on Christmas morning.
Kids had their pictures taken with Santa. Adults sipped hot chocolate and coffee and listened to music by the Youngstown Plazateers, the Youngstown Connection and the Say What? Band. A few band members hooked up with old high school chums between sets.
Joking around
Santa danced along with Rudolph while the band played his signature song, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Santa then took up the mike to sing "Jingle Bells" and to quiz the audience.
"The song says 'Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh,'" Santa said. "What was the horse's name? It's in the song."
Adults chuckled, looked at one another and shrugged.
"Bob," Santa said matter-of-factly. "It says 'Bells on Bob's tail ring!'''"
Andrew Weingart, 6, of Sebring, stayed overnight with his cousin, Ian Murphy, 4, and his mom, Leslie Fishel, both of Youngstown, then came downtown for the celebration. After their visit with Santa, they played in the snow while the bands played.
Ian is hoping for Superhero gadgets like a Spiderman or Batman motorcycle, a Batman airplane or helicopter, and a Batmobile for Batman and Robin to ride in.
Andrew wants an Xbox computer game system and a Spiro the Dragon game to play on it. He'd also like a toy motorcycle.
Lighting the town
Lighting up the downtown included not only the Christmas tree but also 25,000 white lights on trees, bushes and light poles along Federal Street from the Western Reserve Transit Authority terminal at Fifth Avenue to the area beyond where the plaza ends at Walnut Street.
The lights were paid for with private donations, and electricians volunteered their time to connect them.
Santa took a break from the festivities and ate cake washed down with hot chocolate. He said there's a lot of hectic activity in his North Pole workshop these days to ensure all the toys are ready for Christmas Eve.
Santa rode into Youngstown along with Rudolph. He said he'll count on Rudolph to lead the sleigh on Christmas Eve if it's snowing then as it was on Friday night.
"Rudolph is the youngest and the smallest of the reindeer, but he's got that red nose," Santa said. "He's our public relations guy."
He said the reindeer have to be in good shape to make the trip.
"They're in flight training now, and we're watching their diets. We have to get them down to zero body fat before Christmas Eve. Of course, that won't happen to Santa," he said, chuckling and patting his rotund belly.