By JESSA PEASE / Staff Writer

PELHAM— Residents will have several opportunities to see Santa Claus and members of the Pelham Fire Department this Christmas Eve. To give the community time to prepare, the fire department has already released a list of Santa Stops on its Facebook page.

The Santa Stops tradition began last year, according to Battalion Chief Mike Reid. He said they used to have Santa travel down each road in Pelham without stopping and giving kids the opportunity to see him up close.

“Last year was the first year we did the stops, it was very successful we had lots of positive response from our citizens,” Reid said. “Just having that up close and personal opportunity to see Santa and the firefighters is important.”

Each of Pelham’s stations will have about 30 stops Dec. 24, starting around 4 p.m. and lasting until 8-8:30 p.m. Reid said they will stay at each strop for about five to 10 minutes.

Families will have the opportunity to take photos and kids can get in some last-minute present requests.

“It’s a better chance or us to see the kids and for the kids to see Santa as well,” Reid said. “The firefighters who ran it last year loved it, getting to interact with residents.”

Reid said the event was a lot of fun last year for everyone involved and they had only positive responses about the Santa Stops.

For a schedule of Santa Stop locations, visit Pelhamonline.com/1224-santa-stops or the Pelham Police Department Facebook page.