Santa Claus has come to Pahoa and is visiting keiki at the Puna Kai Shopping Center until it’s time to leave on Christmas Eve.
Santa is taking a break from working at the North Pole to visit with keiki in a “winter wonderland” at the O’Reilly Auto Parts location in the shopping center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today through Saturday.
“Many kids don’t ask for much but like to talk about what’s going on in their lives, which I love to hear before Christmas,” Santa said on Monday. “I’ve been visiting kids for a year and a half, and it’s good fun. I even kept the first letter a kid wrote to me.”
Cold air immediately greets families as they walk into an open space filled with Christmas decorations, old Christmas films playing on repeat, colorful lights and Santa in his sleigh at the back of the large room.
Keiki can talk with Santa, then get their photos taken for free. The photos are emailed to families the day they are taken.
“We had the space, so we wanted to create a winter wonderland to make it seem like kids were walking into Christmas,” said Brooke Naiga, property manager for Puna Kai. “We don’t expect hundreds of people a day, but we thought this would be a great option for people who may not be able to afford photos with Santa.”
Jordan and Laura Daniels brought their kids, Rocky and Sunny, to meet Santa Claus on Monday afternoon and were surprised by the bright Christmas cheer and cool temperature that put them in the holiday spirit.
“We heard about Santa visiting Pahoa and thought it would be a lot of fun for the kids,” Laura Daniels said. “We weren’t expecting the decorations, and it’s nice to see.”
“This is our way of giving back to the community this holiday season, and we hope we get more people visiting as Christmas gets closer,” Naiga said.
