FORT RILEY, Kan. -- Santa Claus paid a special visit to USO Fort Riley Dec. 23 to read to children and parents alike during Story Time with Santa at the center.
Story Time with Santa was part of a series of events hosted throughout December by USO Fort Riley referred to as Jolly Days. Other events included three-dimensional snowflake making, sugar cookie decorating and greeting card creating.
"We try to create family friendly programs and activities because a lot of people can't go home or they're getting ready to (Permanent Change of Station), so they have an empty house," said Theresa Guadagno, center operations supervisor at USO Fort Riley. "We try to make it really children friendly as well because we know a lot of the service members have young children and just bring the whole community together for fun events during Christmas."
More than 330 parents and children huddled together on the floor and in a few chairs lining the room to listen to Santa read in two sessions that day. Each child received a copy of the book with a record feature, so their parents could always read the book aloud to them, even when they could not be there in person.
"Everybody is in such a good mood," Guadagno said of the readings. "I was shocked at how well behaved the kids were. All the kids were so happy to be there and so happy to have a sugar cookie and be able to put frosting on it."
Staff Sgt. Seth Blaben, 3rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, attended with his wife and three children -- ages 5, 4 and 2. He said he appreciated them receiving a copy of the book because they could listen to him reading it even when he is deployed or in the field.
"It was cool," Blaben said of the event. "It was Santa reading and then they got to sit on his lap for pictures … It's really great, I didn't know they did this."
The pictures and time with Santa were two things most requested from parents who frequent the USO, Guadagno said. She added it can be tricky for families to get to locations like a mall for photos and time with Santa, so they made the USO that place for families to enjoy.
"This is a very good, contained area," she said. "If your child gets away from you for some reason, there's less chance of you losing the child, so it just seemed like a really good idea to have all that come together in a nice, safe place where the kids have a little more freedom."
Guadagno said she and other USO volunteers and staff enjoy hosting Jolly Days because of the joy it brings to families. She said she loves seeing families connect with one another as they bond over a craft or cookie.
"We really enjoy having families here," she said. "We really enjoy being able to take some of the stress off of the holiday season for everybody."
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