MAGAZINETOLEDOT H E B L A D E , T O L E D O , O H I O S U N D A Y , D E C E M B E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 4 S E C T I O N C , P A G E 6

Rebecca Buckman of Oregon comforts her daughter Ava Buckman after Ava met with Santa at Franklin Park Mall.

Stephanie Day of Tecumseh, Mich., shares a moment with Santa.

Tanayah Myrich of Saginaw, Mich., runs through her wish list.

Samantha Osenko of Dayton, 5, and sister Lindsey Osenko, 6, snuggle with the jolly old elf at Franklin Park Mall.

By MIKE PEARSONBLADE FEATURES EDITOR

I t was three weeks before Christ-mas and all through the mall, every creature was stirring in a holiday squall.

� e merchants and shoppers, sul-len teenyboppers; all hustled and bustled at a furious pace, to � nd that perfect gift to put a smile on a face.

Save for one tiny island surround-ed by snow, where laughter was present and smiles were aglow.

And why not. Santa Claus was in the house.

As it does every year, Franklin Park Mall is playing host to the vis-itor from the North Pole this holi-day season, just in time for children to tell the jolly old elf their fondest Christmas desires, and parents to get the obligatory photo for their scrapbooks.

We wanted to know what kinds of things children were asking for this year, but Santa demurred; something about con� dentiality, he whispered, even as he cast a glance at one of his nearby el� n assistants. Sadly, even St. Nick has handlers.

No matter. � e truth of the experi-ence lies in the faces of the children lined along red velvet ropes with their parents, waiting for the chance to give a � rst-hand report on wheth-er they’d been naughty or nice this

year, and extract a promise of the usual holiday ransom: presents.

Some of the children were dis-tracted by their surroundings, the sea of cottony snow, twinkling lights, and stu� ed animals. (Is a moose in a Santa hat really synonymous with Christmas?) Yet once presented with Kris Kringle — as authentic a repre-sentative of the polar north as you’re likely to � nd — their reactions var-ied. Smiles and laughter mostly, but the occasional � ood of tears as they were suddenly enveloped in the bo-som of the red velvety suit.

A few whispered words from San-ta and a willingness to let them tug brie� y on his whiskers, and the chil-dren were handed back to their par-ents, who beamed on the sidelines like coaches who’d just seen their prize player score a touchdown.

And that’s what the holiday sea-son is about for children, a touch-down of the imagination, a celebra-tion of possibilities, a destination 11 months in the making.

Santa and his helpers may have declined to o� er speci� cs on their jobs, but, really, who needs them? A child, a smile, a Saturday afternoon. Was there ever a better de� nition of Christmas?

Contact Mike Pearson at mpearson@theblade.com

or 419-724-6159.

Holds Court

Kids line up for a word with the big guy

Santa

Ayssa Temple of Toledo, 8, checks the view through a pair of paper glasses. BLADE PHOTOS BY JUSTIN WAN