Santa visits Ainsworth Opera House

Before Santa Claus can tell his elves which toys to make, he needs to know which toys are in demand. Santa traveled to the Ainsworth Opera House Sunday afternoon to find out.

Sharon Gillis organized the event, which apart from Santa also featured tables where children could make crafts. There were also refreshments at the Opera House such as grapes, pretzels, crackers, cheese and koolaid. She said she has helped organize Santa?s visit to the Opera House for the past 15 years.

Brenton Bonebrake asked Santa for a snowboard. He said he had never gone snowboarding before but that he wanted to. His brother, Logan Bonebrake, asked Santa for a DSi XL, which is a handheld videogame.

?I already have a DS, but the DSi XL is bigger,? Logan said.

Macy Bonebrake said she asked Santa for a green pillow pet. She said she already has a pillow pet but that she doesn?t have a green one, which is what she wants.

Sierra Gillis, 9, asked Santa for a game called ?Scrabble Alphabet Scoop.?

?It?s like scrabble except that you have a big bowl with letters in it,? she said. ?If you scoop up the fly you lose the game. You can?t really see it because it?s hidden in all the letters. It?s sort of a board game.?

Gillis said Santa gave her a lot of ?Littlest Pet Shop? stuffed animals last year, which she was very pleased with. She said she will leave milk and cookies for Santa and carrots for his reindeer.

Allison Golden, 5, asked Santa for an electronic toy dog called ?Go Go My Walkin? Pup.? Her mother, Susan Golden, explained that it is a white doll with a leash that allows a child to walk it. Susan said nearly all of Allison?s classmates are asking for it. Allison said she got an American Girl Doll last year. She said she likes human dolls but not as much as puppy dolls. Allison said she has been good this year and she expects to be on Santa?s nice list.

Sedrick Cavin, 10, wants Pokémon cards and a few video games such as ?Monopoly? and ?Cars 2? for Wii. He said he would also like the movie ?Cars 2,? which he has seen in 3D.

Michael Sypherd, a friend of Santa?s, said he has known Santa for 30 years, dating back to when Sypherd was enrolled at Washington High School.

Santa said that a number of children who visited him Sunday asked for iPods.

?Everyone wanted something a little different,? he said. ?There wasn?t much doubling up. When I was in Mt. Pleasant, the strangest request I heard was from a kid who wanted a chicken coop and five chickens. One little girl asked for a can of whipped cream.?

Santa said he heard an unusual request from one of the children in Ainsworth.

?Someone wanted me to get rid of their brother,? he said.

Santa explained to the child that fulfilling such a request was beyond his abilities. He added that it was not in the Christmas spirit either.