Hundreds of children delighted by Santa’s arrival

Santa came to town on Saturday to the delight of hundreds of children in Bradenton.

Children waved and shouted as Santa and Mrs. Claus made their way down in a helicopter onto a field at the annual “A Night before Christmas” celebration at G.T. Bray Park.

Seven-year-old Cameron Lord watched in wonderment. “He was waving from the top,” Cameron said.

She and her 3-year-old brother, Grant, were heading over to see Santa so they could make their requests.

Topping Cameron’s list is a Lego Adventure set, she said, smiling. Grant wiped a tear from his eye and clutched onto his grandmother, after having just taken his own ride down the snow slide. He had been a little afraid, they said.

But the frown quickly turned into a smile when he started talking about what he wanted for Christmas.

Cameron reminded him about wanting superhero costumes. He smiled, nodded and said “Captain America.” He also wanted Legos, he said.

“Nana’s brought us to a lot of different events, but this is the first time she brought us to this one,” Cameron said. “I think this might be the best one.”

After waiting in line to get on Santa’s sleigh and making their Christmas wishes, there was lot more fun to be had, including face painting, bounce houses, an 18-foot inflatable slide, a trampoline power jump, hayrides and cookie crafts.

But besides Santa, the hottest attractions were definitely the snow slide and snow play area.

“You got me,” one father said, smiling as a little girl giggled after throwing a snowball at him.

Children galore giggled and grinned. And for some, it was their first time touching snow, evident as they marveled over its texture.

And with temperatures in Bradenton reaching 80 degrees on Saturday, snowballs quickly melted after they landed on the pavement.

Six-year-old Zion LeBoff patiently waited for her turn to take a trip down the snow slide.

“I have no idea,” she bashfully said when first asked what was on her wish list.

But after a little coaxing, she smiled because she knew what she wanted.

“Well, I do want a violin,” she said.

Zion, who attends the Manatee Learning Academy, said she plays the violin with her music teacher, Melissa, but wants one of her own so she can practice at home.

She was happy on Saturday, she said, because she and her mother were having some “girls’ time.”

“The boys didn’t want to come,” her mother, Jessica LeBoff, said.

This story was originally published December 3, 2016 at 7:20 PM with the headline "Hundreds of children delighted by Santa’s arrival."