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Santa will come calling

Good little boys and girls in pre-school through second grade will receive a phone call from Santa Claus on Tuesday or on Wednesday, Dec.13-14, from 6-8 p.m. – if parents register them for the upcoming “Calls from the North Pole” program before the deadline of Friday, Dec. 9.

The Calls from the North Pole program has been hosted annually for nearly 20 years by the Merrimack Parks and Recreation Department and is supported heartily by the Merrimack Police Department.

Some 20 years ago, according to look-backs online, children who talked with Santa had a Christmas list that included action figures such as GI Joe, Dusty and Sandstorm and General Hawk. The “Happy Holiday Barbie” of 1991 was the fourth in the Barbie series, and quite the gal, in green velvet.

Sherry Kalish, director of the Merrimack Parks and Recreation Department, said children love receiving calls from the North Pole and telling him their Christmas wishes. Last year, nearly 100 youngsters received calls from Santa while Mrs. Claus, a very busy lady, was elsewhere baking cookies.

“Every year, after this program is finished, I get lots of emails and phone calls from parents telling me how excited their child, or children, were to be on the receiving end of a call from Santa,” said Kalish. “I get the best feedback. And that makes me happy, happy, happy.”

There is no cost to participate in the Calls from the North Pole program, added Kalish. She also emphasized that if Santa calls and the child is unavailable, he will try again the following day. Kalish said that one of Santa’s elves told her that Santa doesn’t want to miss talking to every child whose parents have mailed, emailed or dropped off the required registration form.

Registration forms mailed in go to Merrimack Town Hall, 6 Baboosic Lake Road, Merrimack, NH 03054, by Dec. 9.

The forms can be obtained through the town’s Web site by visiting the Merrimack Parks and Recreation Department online: http://www.merrimacknh.gov/town/departments/parks_and_recreation.

The forms also are available at the Merrimack Library, 470 Daniel Webster Highway, and at Town Hall, 6 Baboosic Lake Road. Requests for a registration form to be mailed to a parent’s home can be made by sending an e-mail to parksdept@merrimacknh.gov or by calling 420-1435.