West Milford residents rang in this holiday season at the annual West Milford Township Tree Lighting! It was a huge success as people young and old gathered to bring joy and cheer to the town for this coming winter.
The event was held at the West Milford Town Hall on December 4 and featured hot chocolate, carols, and a visit from Santa. To help take the chill out of an otherwise beautiful night, the West Milford Rotary Club served up some piping hot chocolate with the help of some high school volunteers. These hot chocolate efforts did not go unnoticed, as a local resident states, “The smiles on the faces of the hot chocolatiers made my night.” As they continued to exhaust their hot chocolate supply, the township representatives welcomed everyone and invited out the Boy Scouts for the color guard presentation. Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts alike were there to share in the joy of singing the carols.
Shortly after, the West Milford High School Band was invited to perform some of their Holiday features from their concert on December 14th. The West Milford High School Choir then sang a long list of carols including the famous “It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas”, “Deck the Halls”, “Jingle Bells”, and “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.” The town then watched as the count-down began to light the tree and bring cheer to the Town Hall. The choir concluded the night by leading everyone in a final carol–“Here Comes Santa Claus.”
As children and adults alike began to join in singing the famous carol, the local fire department acted as Santa’s sleigh and brought him to the lawn in front of the Town Hall. Santa appeared to have gone on a strict diet in anticipation of the overwhelming amount of cookies and milk he is likely to consume this Christmas. Santa Claus was later escorted inside the Town Hall building, where, instead of going to court for breaking and entering, he took pictures with all of the children patiently-or not so patiently-waiting for a chance to sit on his knee and tell them their Christmas wish.
Overall, the event was heartwarming at its core and would make any Grinch’s heart grow three sizes larger. The looks of pure excitement on the faces of the children as they helped bring Santa Claus to town was enough to make the event worthwhile, nevermind the joy on their parents’ faces as they witnessed the true spirit of the holidays coming through.