Just call her Kris Kringle
Staff writer
Wanda Dush waved to children from the storefront of Et Cetera Shop in Hillsboro and laughed as a little boy danced and ran for her.
The children may not have been able to sit on her lap, but they still collected goodie bags as she portrayed Santa on Saturday during Hillsboro’s Down Home Christmas celebration.
Children also were able to get their pictures taken.
This is the fourth year she has played Santa, but she has been asked to play him many times for friends and family.
“This time of the year, I go by Kris Kringle, or Santa Claus,” she said, chuckling.
Dush volunteers for the shop and doesn’t mind the costume, but said it was a little stuffy this year in a warm storefront used for safe social distancing.
“I guess my helper is out there enjoying the cool air,” she said, shaking her beard out before posing for another photo.
Some say she is a natural, but Dush said she was happy to be one of his many elves.
“There’s only one St. Nick,” she said. “I try and help him.