Mrs. Santa Claus accompanied Mr. Claus (aka Lou Kamer) in December to the annual HO!HO!HO! celebration that was held in Simon Meadow.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT
By LOU KAMER
This is an absolutely true story.
Just a couple of months ago, Santa and his entourage once again arrived in Pacific Palisades, riding through town on LA Fire Station 69’s truck to the YMCA Christmas Lot, where hundreds of excited kids and their parents greeted the couple with wide eyes and smiles.
Santa Claus routinely came to the Palisades in December, but 2024 was a special year for the Pacific Palisades Community Ho!Ho!Ho! For 75 years Palisades neighbors have put on a free party for themselves and others just to have fun and celebrate the fact that they all lived in a place where these kind of things could happen.
Kids danced and sang to their parents and friends in the crowd, there were Martial Arts demonstrations, face painting and crafts. Local teens helped everyone to have a good time. The hot chocolate never stopped.
When they arrived, Santa and Mrs. Claus walked through the rows of wonderful smelling trees, welcomed everyone and sat down to take pictures and hear what everyone – parents, grandparents and their kids – wanted that year.
Hours passed. Kids asked for a lot of different things – Unicorn Rainbow Dolls and Cyber Truck ATVs, Lego and sparkles and sprinkles.
As the sun began to set over the ocean and it was almost time to leave, a dark-haired girl, about eight years old, shyly came up and sat next to Santa while Mrs. Claus talked to another family.
“Hello, young lady,” Santa bellowed in his deep voice. “And what would you like this year?”
The girl was scared to look in his eyes but said, “Uhm. I’m not sure. I don’t think you can get it.”
Santa had heard this before from other kids. “Ho Ho Ho! Do you know there are a lot of really busy elves right now at the North Pole? “Santa said confidently. “They can make anything. So what is it you would like?”
The girl looked right at him this time and said, “Can you give the people who don’t have homes or are needing help, can you help them?”
It caught Santa off guard. What the girl asked for and how she asked was so giving, genuine and hopeful. For the first time in a very long time, Santa was speechless.
“Well,” he finally said, his voice cracking, “Yes. Yes, we can do that…but only if you promise.”
“Promise what?” she asked.
“To help,” Santa said. “We need your help. Will you?”
She quickly nodded YES.
Santa continued. “Then it’s settled. We will work together. You are a very special person for asking for this. I am so happy to have met you.”
She smiled, got up and headed off to join the other children.
Then Santa took a deep breath, stood up and walked with Mrs. Claus through the wonderful smelling maze of dark green trees, waving goodbye to everyone until next year. They continued walking along Sunset Blvd., past the stores, the historic district; through the Village of Pacific Palisades to Fire Station 69, where their sleigh waited to take them to their next adventure.
Santa sent this note yesterday to Circling the News. He wanted that girl to know that he will remember her for the rest of his life.
Kindness, compassion and hot chocolate. Who would have thought?
I hope we can all help her, and each other, to find the way back home.
This is a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing. My family loved being at Simon Meadow w Santa and Mrs. Claus.
Beautiful.