Hotline connects Charles to the North Pole
Parks and Rec program brings the North Pole to Charles County
Santa Claus will be making special phone calls this Christmas to kids throughout the county to wish them a ‘Merry Christmas’ and find out what item is No. 1 on their wish lists.
“It’s very rewarding to listen to the kids and get their reactions from them,” said Kelly Layfield, community center supervisor for Charles County Parks and Recreation.
Layfield and her team help facilitate the Santa Hotline, a program that helps connect calls from the North Pole to Charles County.
The program started approximately 17 years ago by former employee Judy O’Donnell. In 2014, The Department of Recreation, Parks, and Tourism took over the coordination of the event, according to Donna Fuqua, public information specialist for Charles County Government.
The program is open for 200 participants to register and Monday, Dec. 11, phones will ring to their surprise of hearing St. Nick on the other end of the line.
Not only will children be able to talk to the jolly Father Christmas, but they’ll get to hear the sounds of his workshop including the bells of his team of reindeer that help transport him around the world.
“It takes a small village to put the program together,” Layfield said of her volunteers, about 16 altogether, that help facilitate the evening’s calls out of the Department of Recreation, Parks, and Tourism building in Port Tobacco.
Fuqua once volunteered for the program and said each child reacts differently to hearing Santa wants to talk to them on the phone.
“I had one child that was underneath the table and wouldn’t come to the phone and then you have other kids who are so excited and screaming, ‘Santa is on the phone,’” Fuqua said.
“The majority of them are running to school to tell all their friends they talked to Santa last night,” Layfield said. “So it’s very popular.”
Layfield said parents and children alike enjoy the special calls from Kris Kringle and believes the effects of this yearly program will last well beyond Christmas Day.
“Parents are elated,” Layfield said. “I will get phone calls probably for the remainder of the week telling me how much they appreciate what our staff did…We’re in the business of making an everlasting impact and it better be positive. This is one of those programs where it is positive and will probably last a lifetime.”