Santa Claus was the guest of honor at an event hosted by Prime Toyota and Honda on Sunday. Billed as "Breakfast with Santa Claus," the event featured pancakes and sausages, arts and crafts, and a chance to have a professional picture taken with Old Saint Nick himself.
Everything was free for the several hundred guests, according to General Sales Manager Reidar Davies. "We just wanted to do something good for the community that supports us all year long," he said.
The dealership sent home fliers with school children and advertised in newspapers in Dedham, West Roxbury and Roslindale. Lilly Brink brought her two children, Ella, 5, and Sky, 9, with her.
"I'm very impressed," she said. "It was very nice of them and it's something fun to do on a Saturday morning."
The event also featured concerts by the Middle School band and a capella group. "We loved them," said Russ Ward, Prime's General Manager. "They were great."
Santa traded in his usual ride for a brand new Toyota Solara convertible, and his reindeer for a police escort. He arrived with Mrs Claus, and said privately that riding down the VFW parkway in a 225 horse(power) open sleigh was mighty cold, even for him, in the single digit weather.
Ward said events such as this would continue, along with their major support for groups like the Dedham Educational Partnership. "It's how we roll here at Prime," he said.