Santa Claus is coming to Woodstock Christmas Eve as usual, but details of his arrival are a tightly kept secret.Christmas Eve Committee volunteers are busy wrapping up last-minute details to make sure the Jolly Ol’ Elf arrives without a hitch.
Santa’s throne is being set up on the Village Green to be waiting for him after he arrives, which will be shortly after 5 p.m. Saint Nick will arrive regardless of weather. Be sure to bundle up because it is supposed to be bitter cold with temperatures in the teens.
“That’s the one downside for all this stuff because you just never can count on the weather. But outside of that everybody has been very, very helpful, very generous, and I think it should turn out very well,” said Deputy Town Clerk Lynn Sehwerert, who has been involved with organizing Christmas Eve for many years.
Not wanting to spoil the surprise, nobody on the Christmas Eve Committee will ever spill the beans about the means by which Santa will arrive on the Green. Only a handful of volunteers are privy to the details. The only thing certain is the time, and even that is approximate.
Caroling in front of the Woodstock Reformed Church starts around 4 p.m.
Count on sometime shortly after 5 p.m. for Santa’s arrival. He must wait until the Trailways buses have passed. There’s usually one in either direction.
The Christmas Eve Committee doesn’t just organize Santa’s arrival. Volunteers have an 80-plus year tradition of delivering cheer baskets and dinners to those who are homebound or have no local family.
The Christmas Eve Program and baskets are supported by donations, which are tax deductible and can be made at Mid-Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, 85 Mill Hill Road, Woodstock, or the Town Clerk’s office, 45 Comeau Drive.
The Christmas Eve program is made possible with the help of Woodstock Police Department, which provides crowd control and makes sure Tinker Street is closed to traffic, and the Woodstock Fire Department, which leads the parade heralding Santa’s arrival.
Join the family! 
