Santa climbs aboard the trolley to accompany the children on the ride and sing Christmas songs with them as they take a tour through Cranford.
CRANFORD, NJ — On Saturday, Dec. 17, a trolley ride organized by the Cranford Chamber of Commerce. The ride was offered free to residents and toured the town of Cranford. Santa also accompanied residents for the ride and sang Christmas songs with them. Children brought along their song sheets for the ride so they could sing the lyrics to all the holiday songs.
“There is also a guitarist on the trolley with us,” Chamber of Commerce member Barbara Bilger told LocalSource in an interview. “Residents will be singing songs with Santa as they tour the route through Cranford. They will go down Centennial Avenue on the south side of town. They will travel across Lincoln Avenue, Walnut Avenue and North Avenue. They will basically circle around the south side of town. It’s about a 15-minute long ride.”
The Chamber of Commerce expressed their gratitude to Two River Bank for sponsoring the event. Each child received a free candy cane from Santa after they departed from the trolley ride. Parents each received a Small Business Saturday tote bag filled with coupons for local small businesses.
“Residents look forward to this event each year,” said Bilger. “Although the weather was bad this year, the fire department was generous enough to let Santa stay inside for pictures this year. They also made hot chocolate and served cookies. We really have a terrific Santa this year. People wave to the trolley as it passes them on the road. It’s really a lot of fun and a nice way to start the holiday
season.”
Residents were accompanied off the trolley by Bilger, and residents expressed their excitement and anticipation to ride the trolley this year.
“We’ve taken the trolley ride through Cranford for the past two years now,” Danielle Albuquerque of Cranford told LocalSource in an interview. “It’s fun to get to see the decorations throughout town. It gives Cranford a small-town feel. The kids love singing Christmas songs with Santa. Cranford does a lot of fun activities for the holiday season. For example, the Cranford Jaycees organized an event with the Cranford Fire Department where Santa visited the homes of Cranford residents.”
The snow didn’t keep people from enjoying the event, either. One resident said the snow actually added to the trolley ride as they admired the scenery all covered in white.
“We love the trolley ride and look forward to it every year,” said Linda Ferreira in an interview. “It’s a really nice holiday tradition. The kids love singing Christmas songs with Santa. The snow was a nice touch this year too. My kids keep asking if they can ride the trolley again.”
Santa greeted residents as they climbed aboard the trolley. He also took photos with kids as they were leaving and gave them each a candy cane as he wished them all a wonderful holiday season. It was an exciting event for everyone as they got to enjoy a ride with Santa in their hometown of Cranford.