The month of December has rushed by but not all the activities were hard working ones. On Dec.17, some of Santa’s helpers gathered to load the many, many toys collected, taking them up to Post 10127 in Pondella in a joint venture. It took cramming two vans to get all our donations up there and Post 4174 was more than happy to participate in such a worthy venture. Our members voted to donate extra funds to help in the purchase of many of the gifts. Seems the spirit of giving is a constant one here!

On Dec. 18, the Riders participated in the Buckingham Parade, with their bikes all decked out with lights. It was fun to see in what manner all the people could find to decorate their rides. The turnout was far more people than were expected but it was awesome! The bystanders who participated enjoyed it almost as much as the participants and it’s hoped this will become a regular Xmas celebration.

The Dec. 19 Christmas party was loaded with food, fun and a real old fashioned snowball fight! One would not believe how accurate some of the people were in tossing them, especially since snowball fights aren’t all that common in Florida! There was a Secret Santa exchange, many different sweaters (and I wouldn’t call them ugly either), all sorts of party type hats, a lot of singing, dancing and just general good cheer. The gift exchange brought on much laughter as well as deep appreciation and almost everyone did keep it secret, which added to the merriment.

Dec. 25 saw the Christmas dinner which was buffet style and included dine in or take out. The dinner was served beginning at noon and was open to all with no charge, but donations were accepted. As always, when there is a meal at the VFW, the dining room is a no smoking area while the canteen is not. A special thanks goes to all those who worked cooking, serving and cleaning for this joyous event.

We’ll be closing out the year of 2021 with a bang and are looking forward to the New Year. We are wishing and hoping for a safe, happy and healthy holiday season for everyone and a hope that the forthcoming year will be a great one for us all.