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By Emily Reed | Special to the Reporter

ALABASTER – Santa Claus will once again return for his pit stop in Alabaster, before heading to the North Pole on Christmas Eve.

The Alabaster Fire Department took a brief hiatus escorting Santa Claus throughout the city in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns, but the tour will return, with a few changes this year.

“The city has grown significantly over the past several years and has added several new neighborhoods,” said city of Alabaster Public Relations Manager Neal Wagner. “Rather than trying to continue doing brief stops in every neighborhood and pushing the tour well into the evening hours, as had been the case the past few years, the department is moving to longer, more centralized stops hitting every part of the city.”

Wagner said this will allow Santa to spend more time with kids at each stop, but it will also allow for the tour to wrap up in enough time for children to get to bed before Santa begins his “official” tour around the world.

The Alabaster tour features Santa riding atop a city firetruck where Santa stops and visits with children throughout the city.

“This is a tradition the city and the Fire Department in particular looks forward to every year, and they really put a lot of thought and effort into making it a memorable experience for Alabaster children year after year,” Wagner said.

For the stops listed this year, children are welcomed to come out with their families and greet Santa for photos and a fun Christmas Eve tradition.

The tour is listed below:

1 p.m.- 1:30 p.m.

–  Alabaster Church of God 530 1st Ave. W.

– Elliotsville Church 8828 Hwy. 119

– The View Apartments Pool 3rd St. NE

1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

-Colonial Promenade- Across from Dairy Queen 780 Colonial Promenade Parkway

1:40 p.m. – 2:10 p.m.

– First Baptist Church 903 3rd Ave. Northwest

– Thompson Intermediate 1509 Kent Dairy Road

– Liberty Baptist Church 306 Fifth Ave. SE

2:20 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.

-Kingwood Church 100 Harvest Way

-Maylene Pentecostal Lighthouse Church Highway 17

-Abbey Wooley Park 320 Park Road

3 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. 

– Old Kingwood School 1351 Royalty Drive

– Grande View Clubhouse 136 Grande View Parkway

3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

-Thompson High School 1921 Warrior Parkway

3:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

-Wellington Manor Clubhouse 1500 Windsor Court

3:55 p.m.  – 4:25 p.m.

-Hickory Hills Church 190 Allen Drive

4:10 p.m.  – 4:40 p.m.

-Evangel Church 423 Thompson Rd

-Meadowview Elementary School 2800 Smokey Road

4:35 p.m. – 5:05 p.m.

-Weatherly School for Amazing Kids 61 Weatherly Club Drive

4:50 p.m.  – 5:20 p.m.

-The Branch at Mission Hills Church 16669 Mission Hills

-Buck Creek Park 701 6th Ave SW

5:00 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.

Veterans Park at the Playground 7305 Hwy 119

5:15 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

-Weatherly Clubhouse 100 Wembley Way

5:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

-The field on Victoria Station Across from 290 Victoria Station

-Silver Creek Clubhouse 257 Silver Creek Pkwy

6:10 p.m. – 6:40 p.m.

-Creek View Elementary School 8568 Hwy 17

-Park Forest Clubhouse Park Drive

6:15 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.

-Saddle Lakes Old Barn Equestrian Drive