'Twas the week before Christmas

SANDUSKY — It was the perfect combination of naughty and nice. On Thursday, Tondra Frisby, Sandusky's recreation youth program supervisor, hosted an event for children at the former Mills Elementary School site, also known as Outta School @ Mills. The fun-filled festivities function consisted of games and special visits from one of the holiday's most famous and one not-so-favored characters. "It is a time that we can show the kids that are part of this program how much the community cares about them," Frisby said. "It's also something that gets the kids eager about the end of the season." Children marched into the gym chanting, "We love Santa," and, "We love the Grinch," while they waited to meet the Christmas celebrities. Once everyone took their seats in front of the stage, the big guy in the red suit stepped out, and they all erupted with cheers. Filled with excitement, each child lined up one behind the other as they waited to tell Santa what they wanted to see under their trees. But the night was interrupted when fuzzy green fingers began to pop out from behind the stage curtains. One by one, children began to realize who was about to make an appearance. When the Grinch pulled back the curtains, they, once again, reacted with screams. When the Grinch jumped off the stage and got closer to the crowd, they began to chase him out of the room and through the halls of the building. Once he was out of sight, the children returned to the gym for another guest visit: John Hall and Logan Catri from Hall of Fame Barbershop spoke on the No. 1 aspect they would encounter in life: relationships. Hall said they will build relationships with friends, family and everyone else in their lives — and all of them are very important. "How you deal with these relationships and the interactions you have might shape how your life is going to go," Hall said. "One thing I want to tell you guys is always try your hardest, always love everybody you come into contact with, treat every single person in this world the way you want to be treated. It's going to go a lot farther than you think." Similar to in past years, Hall made a donation to each child in the program. Everyone was sent home with a $20 gift card to Five Below. The night ended with a quiz hosted by Frisby for a chance for the children to win prizes. They were asked questions like the names of everyone who worked at the center and how old Frisby was.