Jolly old Santa arrived right on schedule to celebrate the 75th edition of Barrie’s Santa Claus Parade on Saturday.
The route saw the 60+ floats crawl along Lakeshore Drive before arriving downtown for the tree lighting and fireworks display, with thousands of onlookers taking it all in along the way.
Santa’s fireside gathering place at Centennial Park offered a cozy new viewing area featuring a warm fire pit and food trucks serving a variety of treats. Bleacher seating was also available for visitors.
Leading the way were a handful of Santa’s helpers with Canada Post collecting letters from kids to be sent to Santa, all along the route.
The letters are already on their way via special delivery up to the North Pole, despite the current postal strike, as no one involved wants to risk getting coal in their stockings this year.
Near Centennial Park, a handful of young children sat by the curb patiently waiting for the parade to begin, and clutching their letters to be sent north.
Audrey, 10, from Barrie, wrote in her letter that she wishes for a Harry Potter Lego set.
Dahlia, 11, is “really hoping” for Stuffies.
Next to her is Roman, 8, who pines for an artificial intelligence robot. “I don’t even know what it does, it just looks cool,” he said.
Fair enough. Maybe one day it can learn to put away his toys for him and do his homework.
Morgan, 9, is asking Santa for the ever popular Harry Potter Lego set as well.
A little farther down the line, waiting patiently for the parade to start, is 4-year-old Elizabeth Lynn McGarr.
She is clearly excited to see Santa atop his float as he passes by.
And what does she wish for this year?
“Dresses,” she exclaims. And not just one or two, but 100, she yells out.
Her older brother Alex, who is eight, is a little more reserved with his wish, as he hopes for a Nintendo Switch and football gloves.
Some wishes are very specific. Take for example a wish by Zacharie Hamel, 9, of Tiny, who is hoping for a Hot Wheels car, and not just any one, but a 1958 Chevy El Camino.
His younger brother Benjamin would be happy with a Spider Man costume. You can never start Halloween planning too early, it seems.
Meanwhile, Janet, a grandmother from Shanty Bay, looks forward to seeing Santa at the parade as well.
Her only wish for the coming year is “just for my family to be happy and healthy.”
For more on the parade, visit the full gallery of images.
