The Christmas that Santa visited me in person in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota


Most kids never get to see Santa Claus on Christmas Day. Yes, of course there's plenty of opportunity to see him just about anywhere in December, usually in shopping malls, but I got to see him on Christmas Day and it happened in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.

My parents were always especially wonderful around Christmas, and I can actually see Santa standing there in the living room, and I can hear the "boom-boom-boom" when he knocked on the front door. Yes, Santa came through the door - I think that it had to be explained to me that it was because we didn't have a chimney. I can still see the room, and the door, and in spite of the fact that I know we lived in Mankato, and then on Bloomington Avenue in Minneapolis, I know that it wasn't there - so it had to be Brooklyn Park, which is a suburb of Minneapolis.

Much of the story I recall from the retelling, as I asked my parents many times about this over the years. The back story is that Santa was a next door neighbor, and my dad had arranged it. The neighbor was all dressed up like Santa, and was probably about twenty feet tall (how did he get through the door?) and he was carrying the gifts for my brother and me - I remember that I got a wonderful stuffed animal, Quick Draw McGraw. Hang on and I'll go see if I can Google a pic of it.


There is it, isn't the internet wonderful! It had a rubbery face and the most wonderful eyes. And those ears were great for chewing on, I remember. Seems to me he had a hat, and a holster and guns, but I probably lost that stuff just about right away. And it wouldn't have had any eBay value within a short time, I played with it a lot, carried it around, rubbed the fur. Whenever I see an old toy that shows no signs of being played with it makes me kinda sad. Toys should not be in "mint condition", as they're only happy when they're loved by a child, and kids can be kinda rough on toys!

As I recall, the neighbor was rewarded with a small bottle of whiskey for his efforts. I hope that he enjoyed the whiskey, and being Santa, for us kids!

Thank you, Santa!
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