Neighbors | Zack Shively.The park provided children with crafts during the "Cookies with Santa" event. The children decorated a gingerbread man and house. Pictured is Aiden Chizmar with the craft he made.
Neighbors | Zack Shively.Families came to Boardman Park to make cookies for Santa on Dec. 20. Pictured are, from left, Ava, Toni, Mia and Mason Acevedio. They rolled out dough and chaped their cookies.
Neighbors | Zack Shively.After the park baked the cookies, families decorated them in sweets, such as icing, sprinkles and candy. Pictured are, from left, Michael and Dylan Short adding a sweetness to their sugar cookies.
Neighbors | Zack Shively.Boardman Park gave the children a box to take their cookies home in. The families could color and put stickers on the box. Pictured are, from left, Skylar Drennen and Sophia Isaacs.
Neighbors | Zack Shively.Boardman park had a dinner and movie for the families at the "Cookies for Santa" night. They served up green Grinch waffles while playing "Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!"
By ZACK SHIVELY
Boardman Park invited families to bake cookies for Santa at the Lariccia Family Community Center on Dec. 20.
The families made cookies and crafts, ate, watched a movie and wrote letters to Santa during the night. Boardman Park staff helped run the event and make the cookies.
“It gives families the opportunity to have all the fun of making cookies, but leave the mess at Boardman Park,“ said Karen McCallum, recreation director of the park.
Families with children of all ages began in the activity room. In the room, they headed over to a table covered in flour and rolled out their cookie dough. The families used cookie cutters to shape the cookies.
The park provided the families with many activities to do while they baked the cookies. They set up a craft where they could decorate a small gingerbread man and gingerbread house ornament. They could also color and put stickers on a plastic box to carry their cookies.
The families covered their cookies with sweet decorations after the cookies finished baking. Families decorated the cookies with icing, sprinkles and candy, which the park provided. Once they finished, they could write letters to Santa in that room or go over to the meeting room.
In the meeting room, the park played “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!“ cartoon. Families could watch the Christmas special while eating “green Grinch waffles,“ green waffles that the park made for the event.
On their way out the park, families could see the park’s “Winter Wonderland“ lighting display that they had up throughout December. The lights went along with the Christmas music on radio channel 88.9 FM.
The park has had the “Cookies for Santa“ night every year for the past 14 years. The event sold out and they had 100 people in attendance.