Ward Christmas Party Miracle

It was the afternoon of the ward Christmas party, and the ward activities chair, Delys Snyder, still didn't have a Santa's helper lined up for the Primary children to visit. She had a great dinner, some music, a nativity, and a slide show of ward activities all ready to go--but no Santa. Delys had done everything she could, but nothing had worked out. It looked like the Salem 12th Ward was destined to party without the big man.

Then suddenly she had some inspiration. She knew that the bishop, being born on Christmas Eve, might have some special connections to Santa Claus, so she asked for his advice on how to get one of Santa's helpers to come to the party. The bishop, ever wise and inspired, counseled her to look toward Payson for help, and, sure enough, she got her Santa, a relative of the bishop. He arrived not a minute too soon and gathered his own posse of Santa's helpers to keep the Primary crowds at bay for the 90 minutes he was there spreading Christmas cheer.

It was a Christmas miracle.

I wanted to visit with Santa myself, but by the time I got finished with cleaning up the cultural hall, he was gone. As I stood there in the Relief Society room about five minutes too late, a half-dozen Primary children ran up to me all breathless, saying, "Bishop, Bishop . . . Santa Claus just left with your wife!" I started to panic a bit, but then they added, " We think she had to take him to the airport."

And that's how the ward Christmas party was saved.