EDMONTON -- Santa Claus made his annual visit to the kids at the Stollery Children’s Hospital, flown in by a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Griffon helicopter.
Operation HoHoHo has been happening for the past 15 years. Usually Santa would meet kids in the beach play area of the hospital, but COVID-19 meant it had to be done differently this year.
This year the RCAF brought Santa to the helipad of the Stollery where he was able to give his bag of toys to Child Life program team members.
“(We) had our own Christmas parade and brought his gifts to the children,” said Jenny Plume, team lead with Child Life.
“This year especially it’s been a strain… so being able to bring some joy and holiday spirit, right from the man himself, is a really big thing for patients and families.”
Plume said the parade was “Macy’s Day” style with floats, helium balloons and staff dressed up as presents were handed out.
There was uncertainty around the event this year, Plume said they “caught everyone by surprise” when they were able to pull it off with the help of the RCAF.
“They are really dedicated to making sure this event happens every year and we really learned this year that they will go to no end, there is nothing that will stop them.”
There are upwards 100 children at the Stollery right now. They all received gifts from Santa, according to Plume.
