This past Saturday was the annual Santa Claus Parade in downtown Hamilton and besides the fact that Tehya and her cheer leading squad were involved in parade, I though I’d grab the camera and head down to share the experience with you. Our girls were never into the whole Santa thing at Christmas, so when the were younger I think we attended the parade a total of one time. Those days I remember it being very cold, damp and crowded.

This year was a bit different however. It was a beautiful day and were it not for the wind it would be very mild. Unless you were standing in the shade of the buildings were it was a constantly cold. Unlike other years (I used to work downtown so I have some experience in past years) the crowd was relatively small and the number of floats in the parade were minimal. The floats which were included were very sparse, lacked any creativity and for most was just a marketing opportunity.

With no kids in hand we didn’t line the streets as the other parents, but we did get a great vantage point form the top of the Jackson Square mall (bonus – no screaming kids).

Here are some pics we took, as well as a link to our video channel on Youtube with an edited video of the entire parade. Hamilton Santa Claus Parade Video.

Overall it was a fun day for the kids who attended and you could easily see the joy on their faces as they anticipated the arrival of Santa. However it seems that the police on the motorbikes got a bigger reception than Santa did. Santa’s float was very lame (see the pic above) and didn’t seem to impress the kids who lined the streets for hours before – I know I wasn’t impressed! This was about the kids and for the kids and I truly hope they had a good time. Those cops on bike made my day also and it’s nice to see them so involved in the community.

Other highlights..

- antique fire trucks

- marching bands (where was the Canadian military?)

- Sherwood cheerleading team.

- loved seeing the aboriginal community involved.

Maybe the current economic climate had something to do with the overall feel of the parade and there probably wasn’t the normal support from the business community. So I urge all business in the area to try and give a little more support wherever you can, for next year’s event.