Elgin’s Operation Santa returns this Christmas Eve
By Garrett Christensen on Wednesday, December 18th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
ELGIN – It’s that time of year again. The spirit of giving has settled in for the season, and a group of dedicated local volunteers are going above and beyond. As is tradition, volunteers of the Elgin Rural Fire Protection District and ambulance service are getting ready for this year’s Operation Santa on December 24, 2024.
For those unfamiliar, Operation Santa is a cunning plan devised and hosted by Elgin’s EMS volunteers to ensure every home in town gets a gift delivered personally from the jolly red man himself. Starting out as just a fun visit from Santa to the Elgin Opera house some 50 years ago, the operation has gradually been expanded over the decades to include over twenty volunteers delivering gifts across Elgin.
Each year, volunteers prepare roughly 1,000 goody bags containing candy and toys and take to the streets dressed as Santa to deliver them. These rural Santas begin their rounds at around 5:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve and split up to handle different sections of Elgin, usually split into four quadrants. An additional “roaming Santa” is sometimes specially dedicated to handling the larger apartment buildings in town.
How volunteers decide where to deliver is simple. Any house or residence that leaves their porch/front lights on is marked for a visit from Santa. Anyone that would like to have Old Saint Nick stop by should remember to leave their porch lights on. In this way, not only do families get some extra goodies for the holiday season, plenty of kids get a personal visit from Santa on Christmas Eve.
Keep in mind that the Santas won’t be doubling back to check houses a second time, nor will they stop by if it doesn’t look like anyone’s home. Anyone that wants a visit from Santa should leave their porch lights on and plan on being home to greet the big red guy.
The program itself is entirely donation funded and volunteer run. For those interested in supporting future operations, monetary donations can be sent to PO BOX 431 in Elgin. The rural pancake breakfast hosted each year during Riverfest Weekend also provides some funding.
