For the last fifteen years all good things Christmas in the Town of Highland centered around the excitement of the Santa Express and the Santa's Village of Giving which is located at the Pizza Piazza in Eldred.

Sadly, this year due to the relentless Covid-19 pandemic, out of an abundance of caution, The Santa Express is grounded, but the Village of Giving is up and running and accepting donations for several local charities.

The Christmas Village's contagious (in a good way) festive spirit has spilled out all over town with decorated trees in our lovely Dove Park and Christmas lights everywhere- a virtual beacon of Christmas charm which instantly cheers everyone up when driving by.

The Village of Giving site with over ten Christmas inflatables stands ready to accept donations for a local no-kill pet shelter, new clothing for both adults and kids and dry goods and canned nonperishable foods for the Coalition for the Homeless and toys which will be donated to local families in need and to the Toys for Tots Program.

During the recent snowstorm that slammed into town and left us with over a foot and a half of snow, all the inflatables and donation boxes had to be removed, but everything is now back in place and ready for families to visit and take some selfies with their favorite Christmas characters.

Since the storm last week, the donation bins are now located on the porch of The Corner Shop across the street. I asked Lou Monteleone the owner of the Piazza and the Corner how donations were going this year and he said that it has been going very well and the donation bins have been overflowing and people have been incredibly generous, but some items were still needed especially for the pet shelter.

According to Lou the shelter needs dog and cat food, (no horse supplies this year) toys especially squeaky ones, dog leashes and small blankets or lap throws to be used in pet beds. As far as clothing Lou says that warm gloves, scarves and winter hats for both adults and children are still needed. Lou only collects new clothing donations and suggests using the clothing bins at the Transfer station and the Eldred School for donating used clothing which is always needed.

The Village of Giving will be collecting donations until the end of December. The donation bins and the Village are available twenty-four hours a day. Lou also said that the “Town of Highland always takes care of our own” so if there is a family or a person who may benefit from any of the Village's donations you can contact Lou at The Corner Shop (845-557-3321) or email him at lineofhope@hvc.rr.com.

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. It has been an extremely difficult time for all of us, so make some masked merriment if possible-and be kind to yourselves!