Van Neste Square, Ridgewood, NJ 07450, USA Although it is his busiest time of the year, Santa Claus and some of his hardest working elves have just agreed to join us in welcoming the 2024 holiday season to town at the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce’s annual Downtown for the Holidays Festival on FRIDAY evening, December 6.
Little Ivy Learning Center has once again arranged to fly Santa and his elves into town so that they’ll have an opportunity to meet our local boys and girls. This year, Santa and his elves will once again be traveling along Ridgewood Avenue in his special Santa Cart starting @ approximately 6:30 pm. They’ll be making frequent stops along the way for opportunities to say hello as they make their way from Maple Avenue. . . all the way to the parking lot adjacent to the huge, lighted holiday tree @ Broad Street (@ approximately 8:15-8:30 pm)!
Reliable sources tell us that Santa’s plans were in doubt as recently as this morning.
“I can’t afford to be away from the North Pole for very long at this time of the year,” Santa said. “And because Rudolph and the reindeer need all the rest they can get before the Big Night, I needed someone to find a way to get back and forth from Ridgewood very quickly!”
When the teachers at Little Ivy heard about the pickle Santa was in, they hatched a plan and quickly jumped into action.
“We just knew we had to find a way to get Santa to town for the Downtown for the Holidays Festival” said Stephanie Bassler, Little Ivy’s director. “So we contacted Red-Nosed Reindeer Airlines and luckily they had seats available for Santa and his elves.”
“It made such good sense,” Santa said, “that I wish I had thought of it sooner!”
The Ridgewood Chamber’s Downtown for Holidays opening-night tradition is always a special family evening, featuring the annual tree-lighting outdoor activities for all ages and lots of holiday cheer. East Ridgewood Avenue is closed to traffic from Maple Avenue to Broad Street from 6 pm-9 pm so that families are free to roam as they join in the activities, greet friends and neighbors, enjoy the holiday lights and decorations, and visit their favorite shops and restaurants.
This year’s theme is Trucks on Holiday, with Touch-a-Truck-style opportunities for your children to explore up-close a fleet of fire trucks, police cruisers and other emergency and public works vehicles that they’ve only seen at a distance on the streets of Ridgewood. The vehicles will be arrayed all along East Ridgewood Avenue, approximately from just beyond to Maple Avenue to the parking lot @ Broad Street.
In addition, you and your family can enjoy:
“Our kids always look forward to tree-lighting night in Ridgewood, and we’re thrilled that Little Ivy has once again been asked to support this great family event,” Ms. Stephanie said.
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