Games, candy, Santa and fun at Cops and Kids party

Santa, of course, is a pretty popular guy wherever he goes, a point proved at the Cops 'n Kids Christmas Party last Saturday, Dec. 13 at the Columbia Cove Community Center in Brewster.

Santa sat in the foyer in the middle of an excited crowd; most of the kids were eager to sit on his lap and tell him all the fun things they wanted for Christmas. Santa had to confess he couldn't make any promises - that good list is getting awfully long, y'know, and presents can fall through the cracks, but he said he would do his best. And from their smiles most kids were okay with that; they were happy to tell Santa about their dream presents and get their pictures taken with him and Mrs. Claus, and take home a candy cane.

Consulting with Santa was only one of the fun activities at the annual Cops 'n Kids party, which has been going on so long it's turned into a tradition. It's sponsored by the Brewster Police Department.

Brewster High School students sponsored a children's carnival with all the good old games, a hoop shoot, darts, beanbag toss, a cake walk (a cupcake walk, actually). Kids could try to kick the soccer ball in the goal (very tough to get it between those cones), slap shoot a puck into a hockey goal, throw a football into a (very small) opening. Children could draw winter safety posters for the poster contest (one little girl very carefully colored her entire poster purple, but she didn't want to enter into the contest; she wasn't going to share her picture with anybody). The winners received sleds and toys.

The carnival was followed by a 30-minute movie and the visit with Santa, then the Christmas Shoppe opened for those kids who wanted to buy presents for the family.