Day off for the reindeer: Santa choppers in to Schaumburg to greet kids
Santa Claus eschewed the spaciousness of his sleigh Sunday morning, flying in to greet kids at the Schaumburg Regional Airport in a cozy helicopter.
About 250 kids and their parents greeted the big man and Jolly the Elf as they arrived at the hangar for one of two visits Sunday organized by the Schaumburg Park District.
Jolly, aka Stacy Johnson of the park district, said space was at a premium as the two crammed into the small chopper.
“The pilot told Santa ‘You need to fasten your seat belt,’ but he said it wouldn’t fit around his belly so we had to get an extender,” she said. “It was tight quarters in there.”
The park district has been arranging the unique visit for about 15 years, said Heather Simross, manager of aquatics and fitness.
“This is the only thing of its kind in the area and kids really like the novelty of when those (hangar) doors open and then Santa comes down in the helicopter,” she said. “The excitement is palpable. You can feel it.”
Simross said the event, which included both a breakfast and lunch session with about 250 people attending each, sold out in about an hour.
Sutton Skowronski, 4, of Palatine was one of the first kids in line to meet Santa for a photo after he landed. Her mom, Jen, said they saw Santa at several stops yesterday so Sutton was eager to let him know they’d met before.
“Santa, I’ve seen you four times already,” she said after happily posing for a photo.