Mrs. Claus (Laura Lehmons), Mr. Claus (Brett New), and Elves (Christina Lockhart, Karen Partin) Contributed photo.
You’re never too old to believe in Santa! Kosse residents and children of all ages enjoyed a visit with Santa on Thursday, December 10, and Dakota and Tristan Brunsen took a photo with Santa at the community center, where they also enjoyed a petting zoo
Llama and lights: 10-year-old Bethany Graham pet a llama outside the Kosse Community Center on Thursday, December 10, while she waited her turn to meet Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, and the elves.
Santa Claus Brings Christmas Cheer to Kosse With Llamas instead of Reindeer
Santa Claus made a stop in Kosse on Thursday, December 10 to visit with about 60 little boys and girls and find out what they wanted for Christmas. Mr. and Mrs. Claus arrived at the Kosse Community Center in a big red fire truck, with two elves and goody bags for all the children provided by the Volunteer Fire Department.
“The Community Center has held a night to meet Santa event every year for as long as I can remember,” said City Secretary Christina Lockhart. “Normally, we have a community dinner followed by pictures with Santa. This year due to COVID-19, we cancelled the dinner but still wanted to be able to give the kids of Kosse a chance to see Santa and a free picture opportunity for the parents.” The little town with a big heart adapted to the challenge, and creatively embracing the mandatory social distancing made for an interesting twist on a classic holiday celebration.
“When talking about how to continue the tradition of bringing Santa to Kosse and handle the social distancing, the petting zoo outside was brought up,” said Lockhart. “We only allowed a few families into the Community Center at a time and the other kids were able to hang out at the petting zoo. There were three llamas, goats and a miniature horse all brought by residents of Kosse. It was a big hit. There was a baby llama that was so soft and all the kids loved petting him.”
Kids and adults of all ages enjoyed petting the animals in the cool evening air while they waited to talk to and take pictures with Santa. City employees and volunteers worked hard to create the spirit of Christmas for this event, and others including the Kosse Community Clinic, VFD, Jennifer Funderburk contributed as well.
Many Kosse residents posted pictures from the event on social media, and several photos have been included in this edition of the Journal. Merry Christmas from Kosse!