Aiken Times

City of Greenwood issued the following announcement on December 7.

Holiday cheer was easy to find over the weekend. You just had to know where to look.

Several Christmas-themed events brought hundreds of people out across the Lakelands to celebrate, shop and have a good time.

For city officials and business owners, it was warm weather and large crowds. For Santa Claus, it was smiles and memories.

“A lot of the families have come for years and we’ve watched their children grow up. Santa remembers the kids and they remember him,” said Lara Hudson, the city director of community development, who helped organize Saturday’s Santa on Main event.

Last year, the only thing that took place was the photo session, she said. This year, more events took place. She said she’s glad to have everyone come out.

So was Santa, who has visited Greenwood for years to talk with children, hand out candy and pose for photos.

His favorite part of visiting is seeing children grow up over the years. He recalled one girl who comes back each year, and he has seen a collage of pictures of her growing up over eight years. He said he hopes to see her again this year.

He smiled as he recalled seeing a family of eight all in matching pajamas. Despite all the attention, he does get tired.

“By the end of December, I’m ready for a break,” he said. “I tell kids I usually sleep in on Christmas Day because I had a busy night. They always laugh.”

The Santa Claus PJ Party was a breeze. Saint Nick made his entrance Friday into a packed room at the Arts Center of Greenwood, but a few kids were too busy dancing to notice. Most, however, got into the spirit of the event with some songs and candy canes handed out by Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Some kids tried to take home balloons containing shiny pieces of paper until a parent told them, “No they’re decorations; put them back.”

During Saturday’s event, two children engaged in a bit of roughhousing that might jeopardize their place on the nice list.

A few hundred children took photos with Santa. Most were enthusiastic and some were organized, such as a boy who brought his Christmas list to show Mr. Claus.

Other children demonstrated severe separation anxiety, which prompted their parents to realize Christmas photos would likely have to wait another year.

One girl sobbed even before she was taken to Santa Claus. Amazingly, she calmed down long enough for a picture after her father held her briefly. She didn’t say “no” to a candy cane from Mrs. Claus.

Neither did one boy who took a candy cane offered by Mrs. Claus and started to leave. His father reminded him, “What do you say?” He turned toward Mrs. Claus and said “Thank you.”

Vendors at the Christmas Market enjoyed pleasant weather. Several who attended a November holiday market that was marred by freezing cold and blustery winds that flung merchandise away breathed a sigh of relief.

Business was good for many vendors as hundreds of people milled around. Haley Wallace with the Painted Pyro sets up a table regularly at farmers markets. She said after barely an hour of business Saturday, she had already exceeded her usual sales.

Perhaps the best testimonial was given to Kimberly Ready of Bearwick Candles. A woman piped in: “This woman is freaking amazing!”

Ready developed her home-based candle-making business during the pandemic.

“I loved the creative process of making them with my family,” she said.

It became a passion project and then she starting selling.

“Who doesn’t love candles? They make you feel warm and cozy,” she said.

Also making people warm and cozy is that 25% of the profits go to programs to help woman fight addiction. Ready, who operates Oaks Recovery with her husband, said $1,000 was raised in three months for the program.

Hundreds of people lined the streets Saturday in Ninety Six to see the Christmas parade. Many kids were dressed in Christmas outfits as they waved to parade participants and rushed to the street to scoop up candy that was tossed to them.

To cap off a weekend of holiday events, the Uptown Christmas Parade in Greenwood brought crowds flocking to Main Street. More than 60 floats and groups signed up to be in the parade, filling Uptown with cheer and capping it off with a visit from Santa Claus himself, waving down at the gathered families from atop his sleigh.

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