Are you ready for Christmas? I’ve got a bobble or two about, but for the most part, I try to take one holiday at a time, so now that we are through Thanksgiving, I’m ready to start setting my sights on the ‘most wonderful time of the year.’

Nothing says Christmas around the Webb Weekly office like when The Blaise Alexander Christmas Coloring Contest is in full swing! We have entries coming in left and right, and our elves are hard at work. If you haven’t heard, every year I bring in elves, straight from the North Pole, to help me out. They are helping judge the entries, along with keeping them sorted by age group, and compiling the list of names to be published the week of Christmas!

We brought in a whole new batch of the little pointy-eared imps this year, so if you see them wandering about, please point them back towards Southside. Cupcake Fizzyfluff, Merry Gingertows, Noel Twinklespice and Marshmallow Cuddlecane, are easily distracted. They keep heading out to see Santa downtown, so we have to keep them reigned in. I’ve found dangling a Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cake in front of them like a carrot helps to keep them on task. Except for Marshmallow, she seems to prefer candy canes.

This is the 2nd week for the coloring contest, so you have plenty of time to get your entries in. We have LOTS of great prizes from Flyworld, English Model Railroad, Elery Nau, Hooplas, Treasure Castle Playland, Harder Sporting Goods, AMC Theaters, Dairy Queen, Trout Pond Park and Faxon Bowling! If you need another copy of the contest, check out our Facebook page. It is pinned to the top of the page so you can download and print it out if you need to! The page is also up on our website in a printable form if you need more copies! You can drop them off in the office or mail them to:

Blaise Alexander Chrismas Coloring Contest
c/o Webb Weekly
280 Kane St., S. Williamsport, PA 17702

The coloring page and details are on pages 18 and 19.
Speaking of Santa…

Every year around this time I share a Facebook post that I stumbled upon a couple of years ago that says, “Just a reminder to all the parents out there to be modest with your gifts from ‘Santa’. Not all parents have a ton of cash to spend on making their kids’ Christmas special, so it doesn’t make sense to have Santa give your kid a PlayStation4, a bike, and an iPad, while his best friend at school gets a new hat and mittens from Santa. Give them something small from Santa and make the more expensive presents from you. You can explain the value of money to kids, but you can’t explain Santa’s discrimination to a heartbroken kid.”

Say it louder for the people in the back. “You can explain the value of money to kids, but you can’t explain Santa’s discrimination to a heartbroken kid.”

I think this is a really important thing to share and the parents on my friends list have been 100% supportive of the idea. There have been several over the years that were already doing this and several other who said that they were going to start.

Listen, if you are willing and able to give your child an iPhone11, a championship thoroughbred horse, and a summer vacation on Bora Bora for Christmas, by all means do so! (and maybe consider letting be tag along to Bora Bora) However, make sure they understand those gifts are from you. Let Santa bring new PJs or books. Don’t let some other child think that Santa loves them less, or worse yet, that they were somehow ‘bad’ and less deserving than little Joey up the street. Being a kid in today’s world is hard enough without adding to it.