A Cherry Log man who’s provided Santa visits for local elementary schools the last several years initially thought the COVID-19 pandemic would nix all plans for such visits in 2020.
Though he was not able to go to schools in person this year, Jack Senterfitt was able to bring some Christmas joy to a number of schools in Gilmer and Fannin counties.
Each December, Senterfitt visits Gilmer County pre-K classes carrying a bag of goodies that are handed out to children after they’ve told him what’s on their Christmas lists. Those school visits are made on behalf of local children’s enrichment nonprofit the Craddock Center.
He’s also at the forefront of a local Sensory Santa program in which special lighting and other features are used to provide low-stress visits and photo opportunity for children with special sensory needs.
This year, Senterfitt used the increasingly popular Zoom app to bring Sensory Santa to local special education classes and have Santa time with pre-K classes on behalf of the Craddock Center.
“When I went into the season, I figured I really wouldn’t be doing much Santa at all this year. But, by using Zoom, I’ve been able to do quite a bit more than I first anticipated,” said Senterfitt, who was able to bring Sensory Santa to all local elementary and middle schools and Zoom Santa to Ellijay and Clear Creek Elementary School pre-K classes for the Craddock Center.
“We also did Zoom visits for Head Start and pre-K classes in Tennessee, North Carolina and Fannin County,” he added.
With the ongoing pandemic lessening the likelihood of the traditional posed photo on Santa’s lap, 2020’s unusual Christmas season was handled differently by Santa’s helpers nationwide, Senterfitt noted.
“Some of the Santas in shopping malls have plexiglass shields or big snow globe kinds of things that they’re inside (of),” he said. “I just decided it would be best for me to not do any in-person type visits this year. This was a way to still do it and, by now, most of the classrooms and teachers are already familiar enough with doing stuff on Zoom that we were able to pull it off.”
Katrina Kingsley, Gilmer County Schools Pre-K director, said the school system was able to provide books for students at the Sensory Santa visits courtesy of an L4GA literacy grant. Handmade wooden toys and knit hats were provided to some classes by the Craddock Center and Mr. and Mrs. Claus.
“All the kids absolutely loved it. He had a cute background up that looked like the North Pole, and they were able to individually talk with him,” said Kingsley. “We had talked pretty early on about the possibility of doing (Zoom Santa visits) and pretty much had a plan shortly after the beginning of school.”
Drive-by Santa spotted
When visiting Head Start classes in Fannin County and Andrews, N.C., Senterfitt enjoyed his first outing as a “drive-by Santa.”
His wife, Trisha, who often portrays Mrs. Claus, drove the Christmas-red Dodge Ram pickup that carried Santa in back.
“Fannin Head Start is all in one building in Mineral Bluff and they’ve got a big playground. I’ve got a big Santa throne that I use for pictures, so I strapped that in the bed of my pickup truck. They all came out and we drove the truck slowly around the playground so I could ride by each class and wave to them and holler ‘Ho, ho, ho’ and ‘Merry Christmas!’ We also did that in Andrews,” he said. “The amazing thing at Fannin was, just as we got out there and started everything, the snow flurries started falling.”
Senterfitt is a member of the volunteer organization Santa America, which provides visits for terminally ill children and those with special needs. A normal December would have found him making Santa visits to a variety of other locations including nursing homes, the Gilmer County Library and Christmas parties for foster children.
Of course that was not to be this year, but he’s nonetheless happy about having opportunities to put smiles on the faces of local youngsters just before Christmastime.
“We tried to figure out a way to still make Santa happen for people as much as we could. For the pre-K classes, I tried to make it as much like the ordinary visits as I could where I talk to them and get them to sing ‘Jingle Bells.’ The teachers called each child up where they could get close to the camera and tell me what they wanted for Christmas,” he said.
“Given the limitations due to the pandemic, I was pretty pleased at how it worked out. It may not have been the same, but I thought it went OK.”