BRADENTON BEACH – Santa Claus paid a Saturday morning visit to the Anna Maria Island Moose Lodge.
Joined by Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer during his Dec. 16 visit, Santa posed for photos and handed out gifts to all the children whose parents and grandparents registered them in advance.
“The kids came to see Santa Claus and receive their gifts. We do this annually and this is probably one of the larger crowds we’ve had,” Lodge Administrator Byron Dalton said.
Regarding that morning’s rainy weather, Dalton said, “When has weather ever stopped Santa?”
Each youngster was called up by name to receive a gift from Santa and his Moose Lodge helpers.
“The lodge employees and volunteers took their own time to go shopping for each child, knowing their name and age, and matching each one individually with a gift. We started doing that last year. Thank you to everybody who’s a Moose member and helps support our children, our seniors and our local charities,” Dalton said.
After receiving her gift from Santa, a Play-Doh play set, 3-year-old Nora Carson politely said, “Thank you, Santa.”
The children’s Christmas festivities included a free breakfast featuring powdered French toast sticks, kids’ coloring activities, Christmas carol sing-alongs, candy and more.
Many of the adult attendees got their first look at the lodge’s new dining room floor, a project that required the lodge to be temporarily closed at various times during the past few months. The lodge officially reopened on Dec. 13.
“We spent almost 90 days getting our new floor done,” Dalton said.
