Children prepare their Christmas Eve offerings for Santa at Pacific City
![Jaisa Zindroski looks on as her son, Joshua, 3, makes a cookie during "Get Ready for Santa" cookie-decorating event.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f2d4796/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1333+0+0/resize/1200x800!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F46%2Ffd%2F563bd83340628ba98be0ed4d1061%2Ftn-photos-staff-s1-daily-pilot-891134-tn-dpt-me-get-ready-for-santa-20211223-1.jpg)
With only a few hours left before children find out if they’ve been naughty or nice, families flocked to Pacific City in Huntington Beach on a rainy Thursday to make personalized cookies for the holly jolly man himself — Santa Claus.
The event welcomed all members of the public and each child was given one cookie and cookie decorating tools to create a personalized snack to go with a tall glass of milk.
![Erin Moore watches her daughters, Victoria, 8, center, and Elizabeth, 11, write letters to Santa Claus.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f9e1654/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1334+0+0/resize/1200x800!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F46%2F32%2F3166c27d409da9a8e558acc311ae%2Ftn-photos-staff-s1-daily-pilot-891134-tn-dpt-me-get-ready-for-santa-20211223-2.jpg)
Children were also given the opportunity to write letters — if they hadn’t already — and hand-deliver them to Santa himself, who stopped by for a visit at around 4 p.m. The cookies were provided by Frosted Cupcakery.
This is the third year the event has been held at Pacific City. Marketing director Jen Williams said the event is typically a good way to drive traffic into Pacific City’s food hall, which tends to have less visitors passing through during the winter months.
“And due to the weather, it helps to hold [the event] inside,” said Williams, laughing before she added that the kids that participate appear to enjoy it along with their parents.
![Gunnar Sullivan, 8, of Huntington Beach sits with Santa Claus as his mother, Dawn, right, takes a picture.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/2c7d1cf/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1333+0+0/resize/1200x800!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F87%2F2c%2Fe072569d4ac3bd4928d8416ef6e2%2Ftn-photos-staff-s1-daily-pilot-891134-tn-dpt-me-get-ready-for-santa-20211223-3.jpg)
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