Santa Claus

1. Santa Claus is coming to town Santa Claus will see children from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 23, at Ashley Furniture, Longmeadow Shopping Center, Hagerstown. Call 301-730-5332. 2. Handmade gifts by local artisans Shepherdstown Christmas Bazaar will be at the  Shepherdstown Community Club Building, 102 E. German St., Shepherdstown, W.Va. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 23; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays, Nov. 24 to Dec. 22, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays, Nov. 25 to Dec. 23. Items include handcrafted gifts such as pottery, fused glass, fine art, woodcrafts, jewelry, clothing, knitted and crocheted items, specialty foods, seasonal items and more.

It was a beautiful November day for both the Greencastle and Waynesboro Christmas Parades on Saturday. Scarves, mittens and warm coats were the dress of choice for the 27th annual Christmas parade, sponsored by VerStandig Broadcasting, in downtown Greencastle on Saturday at 9:21 a.m. Thousands lined the Greencastle parade route from E. Baltimore Street onto the square and down S. Carlisle Street to watch bands, floats and costumed characters spread...

Decidedly masculine, with a full-bodied beard. Sensitive, with a renowned love for children. He is arguably one of the most famous men in the world, and he drew a crowd Saturday when he arrived by train, among elves, at Valley Mall. Santa Claus rang in the holidays with the clang of the train bell, chugging down the vestibule to Center Court, which is decorated during the holiday season in a train-themed motif dubbed Valley Mall Junction. Jessica Straley, 6, of Upton, Pa., was first in a long, winding line of children who were waiting for some face time with Mr. Claus.

Granted, my memory isn't the greatest, but I can't recall ever seeing so many people huddled around the TV set awaiting a Supreme Court decision. Has the whole world gone nerd? A moon landing I get, but a decision on the legality of reams of arcane and impenetrable health care legislation? This is public policy, people. Not the O.J. Simpson trial, public policy. Yet here were housewives, bartenders and maintenance crews - who otherwise wouldn't know the Commerce Clause from Santa Claus - hanging on every word, parsing the framers' true intentions in the realm of implied powers.

Hagerstown resident Mike Stoner's favorite Christmas memory involves a tradition that sent his children scurrying to bed in advance of Santa's arrival. Stoner, who recently was collecting money for The Salvation Army at Valley Mall, said that memory dates back 30 years, to when his children were young. "We would get the kids to the window, and I would go up in the attic with a bell and say, 'Santa Claus is coming,'" said Stoner, 69. "The kids would run and get in bed because they were sure that they heard sleigh bells.

Snow flurries and an old-fashioned horse-drawn sleigh created the perfect backdrop for Saturday's Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas Celebration. Now in its sixth year, the event, sponsored by the Blue Ridge Summit Free Library, featured a host of free activities in and around the library. Once 5-year-old Carleigh Forrest of Cascade saw a white horse pulling a sleigh, her parents knew how they would be spending their Saturday evening. "We were coming around and she saw the snow and said, 'Look, it's snowing.

At Christmastime 2010, my daughter was barely 9 months old. She had two teeth, could walk around objects as she held on, and had just learned to say, "Mum. " She was friendly to everyone and happily sat on Santa's lap and posed for pictures. In the space of a short year, she has become an ardent eater, walks freely around the house, and talks a mile a minute. And she's not as friendly with strangers as she used to be, and her cautious mommy is OK with that. My daughter loves pictures, particularly of herself, so I prepped her for her meeting Santa Claus this year by showing her pictures of last year's visit.

For more than 30 years, the Antietam Exchange Club has hosted its annual Christmas Party for Kids not only to make sure children enjoy the holiday, but to offer their parents a little help by donating diapers and other necessities. Arthur Schneider, Exchange Club member and event co-chair, said Saturday during this year's party at the Masonic Temple in downtown Hagerstown that organizers planned for about 200 people. "Each child got to sit with Santa Claus and talk about Christmas," Schneider said.