Residents of the 300 block of Windsor Avenue and beyond can enjoy the festive lights found in the front and backyards of houses during its annual ‘Santa Night,’ which is scheduled to take place on Friday, Dec. 20. (Photo credit: Chris Baglieri/Special to the Sun)You know the drill: He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. And if you’re good, for goodness sake, Santa Claus will slide down your chimney this Christmas and bring lots of cheer in the form of presents.
But what if the cheer Saint Nicholas spreads this holiday season has nothing to do with the spoils of commercialism, but with the gift of life?
That’s where the residents of the 300 block of Windsor Avenue come in. For the last three years, thanks to Chris Timpano, they’ve gathered one night before Christmas to welcome Kris Kringle and to load up his sleigh with non-perishable food items intended for St. Vincent De Paul Food Bank.
The tradition continues this year, with “Santa Night” slated to occur on Friday, Dec. 20 at 6:45 p.m.
“This actually didn’t originate with me; it originated with my parents in Medford. My dad came up with the event and did it for 12 years, and three years ago they downsized, moved out of their home in Medford and moved to a 55-and-over community,” Timpano explained.
“We built a bit of a reputation with the neighborhood and with St. Vincent De Paul and everyone looked forward to it every year. (St. Vincent) were asking us if we were still going to do it. I talked to my dad, we have a great neighborhood, I said I thought it could work on our block.”
And so, 2016 was the first year the rest of Windsor joined in on the Timpanos’ charitable endeavor. Of course, it was not without its internal and external hurdles.
“Bless my wife, we actually had a 2-week-old son to deal with while all this was going on. People were very generous and so we decided to keep going,” he said.
“We have great neighbors. Once I told them about this, they thought it would be a pretty good idea. We have a bunch of lights in the backyard. Nobody had an issue with that. On the block everybody has young kids, they said they’d love it.”
“Santa Night” wouldn’t be quite right without the help of Haddon Fire Company No. 1 and Chief Sam Trotman, who are responsible for the main attraction.
“We bring the fire truck with Santa on it. He gets off at the end of the block, the fire truck pulls up, all the lights flash, they put a big spotlight up,” Timpano revealed.
Adding to the festive atmosphere, the party also includes Mummers who march in with Santa and provide music for the gathering. Last year, the party featured a live Nativity, and the year prior, two live reindeer had the run of the street.
As for the relationship with the Timpanos and St. Vincent, that’s a slice of serendipity.
“It came through my parents’ parish, St. Mary of the Lakes. One of the volunteers was a patient of my father’s. We had a personal relationship with them, and that relationship grew over the years. They have planned around this event a little bit. They plan to staff the Food Bank on the Saturday after the event to help unload it all,” he noted.
Timpano didn’t have any ballpark estimate of how much food the neighborhood has contributed over the last three years, but said that every year, they’ve donated enough to stack several pallets and fill up a van St. Vincent sends to carry it all to the food bank.
What can attendees expect beyond the usual good cheer, good food and good company?
“This year, God willing, we’ll have the fire department again if there’s no call. We will have some Mummers this year. Some new lights in the backyard. At the moment, we’re waiting to confirm with the live Nativity again,” he said.
