If I were to take a three and one-half hour trip on December 23rd, then turn around and come home on the morning of December 24th–Christmas Eve, it would have to be for a very good reason. For example, like Gail’s annual Santas of South Sixth Christmas celebration in Atwood, her small town in western Kansas.

Suzanne and I left our small city Tuesday morning and headed west for that very reason. This was Gail’s seventh annual Santas of South Sixth, a tremendous offering of goodwill, mirth, conviviality and community. It was Gail’s idea, inspired by The Georgetown Santas, a larger scale, three-night event in our small city of Salina, Kansas. Suzanne and her husband joined in the fun last year and she knew how much fun it would be. We told Gail we would come if the weather permitted.

The weather did indeed permit, reaching an unseasonably warm 65 degrees that afternoon and cooling down to a mild 45 degrees at 7:00 when the fun officially began.

But it began hours before that for all of us present at Gail’s house. Suzanne and I arrived mid-afternoon, and the preparations had already begun. Her house was buzzing with excitement and preparation, with three of her four children present.

Gail’s daughter Kate, came from Wichita with her family

Her son came from Kansas City for the holiday, but his girlfriend’s parents drove all the way from Kansas City, Missouri for just one day to partake of this glee. So, Suzanne and I didn’t get the prize for traveling the farthest. They, too, knew it was worth a long trip down I-70.

Gail lives on the outermost southeast corner of her small town at the top of a hill. That portion of South Sixth, is a short two-block strip, with about ten houses lining the sides. Most of the neighbors were eager to participate as well, and it went like this: the festive joiners would cruise slowly down the hill that is South Sixth street–staying in their vehicles– and the residents would line up on either side, passing out edible treats and small treasures for young and old and everyone in between.

She posted it on the SOSS group on Facebook and it spread by word of mouth as well. In a town this small–approximately 1300 people, it doesn’t take long for news like this to spread. At 6:15, I looked out over her back patio wall to see the cars lining up already, waiting to round the corner, waiting for the fun to begin.

At promptly 7 pm, the neighbors at the top of the hill on the other side of the street stepped out with their treasures and the fun officially began.

Gail had an array of goodies to share, especially the adult libations: holiday jello shots. She had holiday glow-sticks and slap bracelets for the kids, which were as colorful as the shots.

I was appointed the unofficial reporter/photographer, so I rounded the corner several times to check the lineup. For much of the two-hour event, it reached down the hill to the highway, almost half a mile.

Perhaps they were already in town for the holidays, but we will assume these out-of-state vehicles came just for the fun. In which case, the last car pictured would receive the award for traveling the farthest.

The Griswolds were there, too, as well as The Grinch.

Gail had 90 bags of homemade goodies prepared, and exactly all of them were given out, down to the last car. It was as if she knew. Most cars had three or more people in them, so we are estimating at least 400 people came through. The kids in this van had it figured out–opening the door open made it easier to score the goodies.

Someone even came through on their gator.

The view from Gail’s driveway

When it was all over, the Santas (and elves like us) of South Sixth Street gathered for a group photo, then gathered to share cheer among ourselves.

The trip was a quick one, and the fun evening flew by too quickly. Suzanne and I had to hit the road early on the 24th, but it was worth every minute of the seven hours of road time.

I had to work that afternoon, so I decided to share the cheer with my speech therapy patients.

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In case you hadn’t noticed from earlier posts, the spirit of Christmas lives year-round in Gail. Her house faces east at the top of the hill and every night, she can look up outside her door and see this sight on top of the hill to the east:

No matter where any of us are, or what we do to celebrate Christmas, we should all remember to look up every day of the year.

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Merry Christmas a little late from the sisters of The Sister Lode and best wishes for a wonderful New Year.