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Families get into holiday spirit at Breakfast with Santa
By Sean Barron
CANFIELD
Christmas may be more than a week away, but Santa Claus has been anything but shy about making his presence felt in the Mahoning Valley – including recent stops at the Mill Creek MetroParks Farm in Canfield and W.D. Packard Music Hall in Warren for a special holiday-themed concert.
But if you broach the subject of St. Nick with Colton Burns, 6, and his brother, Reid, 3, the Canfield siblings will probably tell you they’re glad Santa has stuck around in the area a little longer before returning to the North Pole.
“He’s very friendly,” an excited Colton said after having sat next to St. Nick, who made his latest appearance and was the star attraction at Saturday morning’s second annual Breakfast with Santa gathering at Camp Stambaugh, 3712 Leffingwell Road.
Hosting and sponsoring the three-hour family-oriented fundraiser and funfest were Camp Stambaugh’s camp masters, volunteers who are trained in Scouting and assist with camp operations throughout the year.
Funds raised will go to the camp’s budget committee, which will disburse the money toward camp and advancement programs as well as wherever else it’s needed, noted Brad Lang, Camp Stambaugh’s chief camp master.
Most importantly, though, the pancake breakfast was geared more toward “getting together as a family of Scouts and starting the holiday season, and bringing people together to celebrate Christmas,” Lang said.
Reid and Colton also were among the participants who took home gifts, courtesy of Santa Claus. The brothers received small bags that contained items such as a magnet, a tiny top, a small bouncing ball and an eraser that resembled an Oreo cookie.
His most desired Christmas gift is a remote-controlled tank “that actually fires,” Colton said with a chuckle.
“Hopefully I’ll have a little down time,” said the boys’ mother, Erin Burns, when asked what she hoped her holiday will entail in part.
Also enjoying the festivities were older brothers Josh, 10, and Logan, 13, a member of Canfield-based Boy Scout Troop 115, and their father, Jeff Burns.
A big part of their Christmas plans includes seeing both sides of the family, said Jeff, an engineer with Nordson Xaloy Inc. of Austintown.
After their breakfast of pancakes, sausage, eggs and hot chocolate, children lined up to meet the guest of honor, who was seated in a sleigh adorned with Christmas lights on the sides, as their parents snapped pictures. Even a handful of adults took a seat in the sleigh.
Among the youngsters happy to have met Santa was 2-year-old Aria Bosiljcic of Canfield, who came with her mother, Sara Bosiljcic, and grandmother Vicki Gleydura of Austintown.
“She loved him. She said, ‘I wanted to see Santa Claus,’” Sara said of her daughter.
Sara added that during her special one-on-one time with St. Nick, Aria asked for two gifts: toy versions of Puppy Dog Pals, the Disney animated series about two adventure-seeking puppy brothers, and Vampirina, a computer-animated, Disney-based Halloween musical children’s series about a family of friendly vampires.
The holidays likely will be spent in a variety of traditional ways for the family, including Christmas Eve with her in-laws and Christmas day opening gifts in the morning, followed by a dinner at her aunt’s home in Vienna. Attending a church service also might be in the mix, Sara continued.
Perhaps one of Santa’s youngest fans was 2-month-old Marielle Tarr-Foster of Boardman, whose first meeting with St. Nick elicited a smile and a seemingly joyous expression on her face.
“She was excited to meet him,” said Marielle’s mother, Kati Tarr-Foster.
Lang also praised the numerous volunteers whose assistance made the breakfast possible.
“All of the volunteers have big hearts and enjoy empowering the values and morals of Scouting into our youth,” he said.