This year’s annual Christmas party at the Ronald McDonald House was far away the best and biggest event we’ve hosted at the Minneapolis location. We had 6 volunteers, Santa Claus, and the newly crowned Miss MN USA and Miss Teen MN USA present for the event. Two of our volunteers, a father-daughter combo, played soft, acoustic Christmas music in the background, while Santa had visits with the kids. Miss MN and Miss Teen MN oversaw the makeup, nail polish, and tiara crowning table. There was a face painting station, a crafts station, and a snowman making (using toilet paper) station.

The kids were absolutely thrilled to see Santa, get their faces painted, create crafts, and spend time with the wonderful Miss MN titleholders. In total, 7 boys, 17 girls, and about 15 family members were in attendance. One little 2-year-old went back to see Santa about 10 times. She had a twin who was confined to their room, so Santa made a special trip to see her. Santa and Miss Teen MN also made special trips to another room were a more shy and secluded family was given some deserved attention.

Once kids found out about the toilet paper/snowman making station, a wild time ensued. Kids loved wrapping each other up and even more so loved wrapping up Jason (the Local Chapter Director). We had a “race” at the end to see who could pick the mess up the fastest.

The music, Santa, titleholders and other stations really created one of the most peaceful environments we’ve ever been in. Our volunteers and special guests all felt blessed and joyful after the event. The pictures tell a lot of the story. We look forward to this event every year, and even more so now that we’ve got Santa in our back pocket!