Children and elves experience the gifts of “wonder,” “awe,” and “delight” at Santa’s face-to-face event in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Do you remember what it felt like to be a kid at Christmas?  Impatiently waiting through the night for Christmas morning to arrive?

For one group of SaskTel volunteers, that sense of magic and play are still fresh.  On Tuesday, December 6 2016, SaskTel in conjunction with the SaskTel Pioneers hosted the 28th annual Santa’s Face-to-Face Event for Children with Disabilities at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Regina.  This year, 20 children from schools in Regina were invited to visit with Santa Claus in person.

The event provides children who have special needs with a safe, non-threatening environment where they can enjoy a personal visit with Santa Claus and the undivided attention of a dedicated elf.  “We focus entirely on the children’s well-being and enjoyment by providing a secure, accessible environment with individual attention for every child,” says Hope McCheyne, the Chief Elf.

As the children arrived in the hotel lobby, the elves greeted them and led them to the “fun” room where they gave them their gift bags.  Puzzles, colouring books, and squishy rainbow caterpillars peppered the floor surface in no time.

Throughout the morning, the elves took the children up for a short visit with Mrs. Claus before seeing Santa himself.  Santa met all the children individually, and after a sing-a-long to “Jingle Bells,” Santa said goodbye and gave each of the children a Hug-A-Bear.

The rest of the morning was filled with music, singing, and other fun activities.  The Street CultureKidz showed up to paint some young enthusiastic faces, making various animals and action heroes a common sight in the fun room along with helium balloons and several Lego city building projects that were deconstructed even faster than they were put together.

“Children, magic, the spirit of giving, and the chance to be a bit of a kid again is what motivates our volunteers to make this special event possible,” added the Chief Elf.  “And, of course, many thanks to the hotel and its staff for showing their generous spirit by providing the event rooms and morning snacks for the children.  A morning of fun, magic, and giving is the best gift ever.”

For more information about the SaskTel Pioneers, visit: www.sasktelpioneers.com