‘Twas the day before Christmas

The St. Charles Christmas parade was so much fun last year that we–Kathy and Annette, Kari’s family, and me (Ted wasn’t feeling well)–decided to go again this year. Last year, the weather was very cold and blustery, and there was snow on the ground. We were more comfortable this year with sunshine and a temperature in the low 50s. We started the afternoon with lunch at Pizza Hut, which is always a hit with Kari’s boys. After that, we headed to Main Street for the parade. Perfect timing–we had five minutes to select a good viewing spot before the parade leaders came into view.

Since pictures of the period characters in the parade look very similar from year to year, I decided to “people watch” instead.

Yes, the carolers are colorful, but check out the guy in the red and white striped jacket on the right.

This family must be related to Mr. Burst. They came in their Christmas pajamas.
We were near the end of the parade route (closest to the riverfront for the Santa send-off), so we were among the last people the parade marchers saw. A number of them gave a thumbs-up to the lady with the camera for having the tackiest Christmas sweater along the route. It was covered with large Christmas lights that flashed.

Santa and Mrs. Claus in their horse-drawn carriage are the last people in the parade. The parade-watchers fall in behind Santa and follow him to the bandstand at the riverfront.

We were in the middle of the crowd, so this shows about half of the attendance. Santa was in a hurry this year. He’s usually the last item on the short program agenda, but this year, he was first. If you look closely, you can see his red suit in the bandstand and he’s already saying farewell to the crowd.
By the time we arrived at the park gates, Santa and Mrs. Claus were in their carriage, leaving to go home to pack the children’s gifts for Santa to deliver tonight.

The parade and send-off were finished, so we went shopping in a few of the Main Street stores. Fun, fun, fun!