Santa Claus visited smiling, happy faces at Andersonville Elementary in Davisburg. With a robust “Ho, ho, ho,” Santa made his way through three classrooms. The first classroom Santa visited was Wendy Roehl’s second grade class. “Let’s talk about ‘believe’ a little bit. What does ‘believe’ mean,” asked Santa, also known as Clarkston Mayor Steven Percival. “It’s what we believe in our heart, right? I believe reindeer fly, right? Some of that’s
magic.” Added Santa, “Do you want to hear some secrets? What about Santa’s favorite cookie?” An eager student responded, “Chocolate chip.” Santa said with a laugh, “Chocolate chip is my favorite cookie, how did you know that? Now, you only have to put like one cookie out. Well, because Santa eats cookies at every stop he goes to. If you put one cookie out, and I only take a bite, don’t feel bad, ok? I really like it. If you’re going to put milk out,
just put a little bit because Santa can’t drink a lot of milk when he’s up in the sleigh.” A curious student asked, “How do you fit into the chimney?” Santa replied, “It’s magic, remember? When Santa puts his finger to his nose and then he twinkles a little bit.” Santa shared one more secret with the class. “So what do we normally leave for our reindeer?” “Carrots,” another student answered. “Yes, carrots,” Santa said. “The reindeer really like carrots. But do you know what they really like for a treat? I’m gonna tell you the secret – raisins. Santa will go out to the reindeer barn, and I’ll have raisins in my pocket. The reindeer will come right up, snuggle right in and get into Santa’s pocket.” Santa also visited Michelle Herkowitz and Angela Comp’s second-grade classes. Quite a few cheerful and eager students also greeted and hugged Santa in the hallway as he finished his visit.
– Brenda Dominick