'It means everything to the kids': Santa flown in by helicopter to visit Stollery patients

Special military operation with Santa Kids at the Stollery got to visit with Santa today, thanks to the Royal Canadian Air Force. CTV News Edmonton's Evan Kenny reports.

The Royal Canadian Air Force flew a special guest to the Stollery Children's Hospital Wednesday to spread holiday cheer.

As part of Operation HOHOHO, Santa flew in on a Griffon helicopter to visit kids and families at the hospital.

"It means everything to the kids," said Kyra Murdoch, a certified child life specialist. "(For) kids that are here, long term or short term, December is the month that they're going to be talking about Santa and visiting Santa and writing letters to Santa.

"To have Santa come and visit all the kids here, it's just, it's absolutely amazing."

Operation HOHOHO began in 2003 when members of the 400 Tactical Helicopter Squadron delivered toys to the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

"Part of our job as child life specialists is to create those normal situations and environments and just having Santa here really brings back the normalcy for these kids and lets them be kids again," Murdoch said.

The event began in Edmonton in 2017 and it's something the kids and the military look forward to each year.

"It's really important for us … coming here and seeing the kids, when we bring Santa in front of them, and we give them their teddy bears, they're so happy, and that means the world to us," said Lt.-Col. Melissa Snook, the commanding officer of the 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron.

"We love doing it every year and we will keep doing it every year."

It's such a popular event, the crew seats on the helicopter are auctioned off to see who will participate. The money from that is used to buy teddy bears for the kids.

Kids like Michaela Rae, one of the patients at the Stollery, enjoyed meeting Santa. She said her favourite part was seeing him come out of the helicopter.

Snook estimates a few hundred bears have been given to sick kids at the Stollery through this event since it started.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Evan Kenny