The Interact Club has hosted the “Santa’s Arrival” event at the Marco Island Academy campus for the last four years. Every year, their main goal is to put a smile on children’s faces and make for a memorable Christmas for all kids on the Island as well as some in Naples.
This year, Santa’s Arrival had another successful turnout like previous years with around 100 children attending, ages ranging from babies to young teenagers. Aside from just the children, their families also attended, packing the school up with people who were ready to experience Christmas magic. Brinley Heflin, a council member for The Interact Club, was very proud of how it turned out, expressing that “It was so successful and I was very happy to see the school packed with people who want to meet Santa.”
Though this event may seem simple, planning it goes deeper than just throwing on some decorations and setting up some tables. It is vital that decorations start being set up in the first week of November to ensure that the school has the perfect amount of Christmas cheer in time for Thanksgiving break. They make sure that from floor to ceiling, festivity is everywhere. Lola Green, a senior, exclaimed that “I love walking into the doors of the school to see a winter wonderland everywhere I look.”
Then, after the stations are decided and finalized, it comes time for volunteers to sign up. One of the most important aspects of the event that ties everything together and makes the event successful are all of the student volunteers. There were about 20 volunteers helping this year to make sure everything goes smoothly and that all the children get to their stations and complete them with ease and laughter.
They carry their hard work into Thanksgiving break, baking cookies for the children to decorate at the event. Decorating cookies was one of the many stations that were set up, apart from face painting, ornament decorating, and many more. The day of the event, all helpers arrive on the campus at 2:30, finalizing any last minute details. Doors then open at 4:45 and everybody works on the stations before Santa himself arrives.
Once the families were done with all the stations, they found Santa sitting by the stairs in the lobby with Mrs. Claus, where they got to take pictures to save these memories for a lifetime.
