Don’t look now, but Santa Claus is returning to Grundy County soon

It might be the Halloween season, but some people in Grundy County are looking ahead to the Christmas season.

With Christmas comes heavy preparation for Santa Claus is Coming to Grundy County, a nonprofit organization that hosts its annual Christmas party at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14 at First Christian Church, 455 W. Southmor Road, Morris.

“We will have your favorite Christmas characters there again, and Santa and Mrs. Claus will be there,” Santa Claus said. “We’ll have face painting clowns, balloon animals and a magician.”

Butch and Paulie make their return this year, too, guarding their story room where volunteers will read stories to children. The games and crafts will return again this year, and Santa is still putting the finishing touches on everything coming to the 2024 Christmas party.

He’ll be even busier in the run-up to Christmas: Santa Claus is Coming to Grundy County his hosting a neighborhood parade of first responders, firefighters, emergency services and the Grundy County Sheriff’s Department through Gardner, South Wilmington, East Brooklyn and Braceville starting at 4 p.m. Dec. 22. He will follow that up the same day with cookies, hot chocolate, coffee and pictures with Santa at the Gardner Lions Club, 184 Pearson Blvd.

Santa will also be in Mazon for the Christmas parade on Saturday, Dec. 7, and in Coal City Sunday, Dec. 1 at the Coal City Fire Station 2, 1455 S. Berta Road.

Santa said on top of hosting a Christmas party with over 1,000 attendees in 2023, it also gave away four $1,000 scholarships to students in Grundy County that were pursuing careers in law enforcement, fire science, emergency management and nursing or pharmacies. Applications can be found at cfgrundycounty.com/scholarship-application-now-open-for-first-responders.