THUNDER BAY -- A year ago Andi Dowdell was too shy to talk to Santa Claus.
Twelve months later the seven-year-old has found her confidence and spent several minutes on Wednesday morning speaking to Jolly Old Saint Nick from her Edgewater Park Public School classroom.
“It was really cool,” Andi said.
“I love talking to Santa now because it was fun and you get to tell him what you really want for Christmas, if he doesn’t know.”
Andi said she asked for art supplies, including pencil crayons, crayons, pencils and an easel.
Classmate Sasha Lowry wasn’t shy at all about talking to Santa.
“I asked him if he knew what I wanted for Christmas and he didn’t know, so I told him. I said Merry Christmas almost a hundred times,” the seven-year-old said.
“I asked him for a laptop.”
Students at 19 schools in Thunder Bay will each get a chance to say hello to Santa Claus, thanks to the Canadian military, who used a special two-way radio to connect with the North Pole, something the 3 Squadron of the 38th Signal Regiment have been doing for more than 20 years.
“The kids send emails and letters to Santa. We provide the service of letting the kids talk to Santa using military equipment that’s able to reach the North Pole,” Cpl. Kyle Swaggert said.
It’s a busy time of year for Santa and his elves, but he always takes time out of his holiday preparations to speak to children in Thunder Bay.
That’s pretty special, said Swaggert, proud to be on a first-name basis with the jolliest elf of them all.
“He’s very busy, but for the past 20 years we’ve been working with him. He’s been very kind to us and we’re able to work with him very well.”
Swaggert added the children were asking for a wide variety of gifts, ranging from iPads and Lego sets to other electronics.
Seven-year-old Jordan Feden said it was a pretty special morning at Edgewater Park.
“It was cool because you don’t really get to talk to (Santa) that much and it’s fun,” he said, recounting that he asked Santa to deliver an iPod when he makes his global rounds in two weeks time.
“They have lots of video games and they’re fun,” Jordan said.
