Holiday Happenings: Santa Claus Came to Town!

Posted by Matt Berman

The holiday season is in full swing at the Virginia Discovery Museum, and there's so much going on! To help you keep track of it all, here's part three of a five-part blog series called Holiday Happenings, which will detail some of the major events taking place at the museum through January 1.

One of our little guests was decked out in his Sunday finest -- a bow tie and sports coat
-- to see Santa. After he and his family enjoyed breakfast at their table in our log cabin
exhibit, the little gentleman had the opportunity to meet St. Nick face-to-face.
(Photos submitted by VDM member)

Santa Claus is coming to town, or so the popular Christmas tune goes. But for more than 20 families, the cheerful chum's visit came a little earlier than expected. The festive fellow in red stopped by the Virginia Discovery Museum's inaugural Santa Pancake Breakfast on Sunday morning to visit all of the tiny attendees as he passed through Charlottesville to make final checks on his Naughty or Nice list.

As families arrived to the event -- which saw a turnout of nearly 65 people -- they were seated at their own private tables throughout the museum and perused personalized menus of food, which included choices of pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, and apple slices. While waiting for breakfast to be served, guests also enjoyed an array of hot and cold beverages like hot chocolate, apple cider, milk, and orange juice (as well as coffee and mimosas for the adults!).

As tasty as the morning meal was, though, nothing could compare to the excitement over the guest of honor's arrival once the plates had been cleared. Peering over and around their chairs -- some even standing on their tip-toes -- kids throughout the museum craned their necks to catch a peek of St. Nick as he stopped at every table and spent several minutes chatting with each family one-on-one.

Counting the tables that remained until his turn with the jolly old elf -- "First he will visit that one, then he'll visit that one ..." -- one little boy could no longer contain his excitement over Santa's impending arrival at his seat.

"... and then he's coming HERE!" the boy exclaimed, emphatically slamming his fist down on the table and sending the chocolate sprinkles he had used to decorate his pancakes flying in every direction.

Thank you to all who joined us Sunday morning for such a fun, friendly (and unabashedly enthusiastic!) holiday meal. We look forward to continuing our Santa Pancake Breakfast next year, and hope you'll join us again!

 

Later this week: Check back on Friday for part four of our Holiday Happenings series, which will take a look at VDM's hours and closings next week.

Matt Berman is the Exhibits and Marketing Manager at the Virginia Discovery Museum. Reach him at exhibits@vadm.org or marketing@vadm.org.