Santa Claus comes to the village
Gift requests range from a brother to Despicable Me Minions
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, December 18, 2014
LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Santa Claus once again came to Fort Simpson and he arrived in style over the weekend.
Emmett Antoine, 1, sits on Santa Claus' lap at the Northern store in Fort Simpson on Dec. 14. The store and Great Slave Helicopters partner to fly Santa in to the community. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo
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Great Slave Helicopters brought the jolly man in red into the community by chopper, landing in front of the library before a crowd of gathered children and parents snapping photos.
"The helicopter ride was amazing, Santa needs to travel like that all the time," Santa Claus said.
He said he was excited to see all the smiling faces when he stepped off the chopper Dec. 14.
The entry was part of a tradition going back years.
John Dempsey, manager of the Northern store, said the company and Great Slave Helicopters partner to hold the event each year.
After landing, Santa went inside to hear what children wanted for Christmas and to pose for photos.
The requests he heard included Despicable Me Minion toys, Transformers toys, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle van, a princess doll house and puppies.
And a puppy wasn't the only living thing.
One little girl in the village this year, Santa recalled, asked him for a brother.
While putting up the Christmas lights and decorating the home may signal the start of the holidays for others, Dempsey said the annual Santa visit is when it starts for him.
"That's the doorway to Christmas to me," Dempsey said.
It's a tradition marked by giving.
Great Slave Helicopters flies in Santa at no cost to the Northern store while Dempsey said staff members volunteer their time to help put on the event.
For $5, donated to the Canadian Diabetes Association, photos are taken of the children on Santa's lap and printed at the store.
As the older children poured out their list of requests, younger children often had a slightly different response once placed on Santa's lap.
Crying broke out often as the children sat, while the photographer snapped photos, which are sure to become a family treasure.
"It's just a nice thing we can provide for the children here," Dempsey said of the tradition.
Jolly Ol' St. Nick was also at the village rec centre after the Christmas parade. Upon walking into the hall where people were gathering for hot chocolate and hotdogs, he was surrounded by young children.
As he spoke to them, one or two would poke or tug slightly on his snowy white beard.
Katana Williams-Snider, who told Deh Cho Drum she asked for a toy car from Santa, was one of those who gathered close.
"Do you like me?" she asked, followed by Santa reassuring her as he knelt to talk at eye level.
