As the holiday season approaches, Santa Claus travels from the North Pole to local malls and shopping centers. But when he recently came to town, he stopped at a new destination.

On Dec. 7, Santa spent time at the UW-Eau Claire University Bookstore in the Davies Center, where he read a classic Christmas story to children and posed for pictures. This visit marks the first time the jolly man dressed in red has come to the bookstore.

The event gave families in the community the chance to bring their kids to see Santa at a location closer than the mall for those living in the surrounding area.

“We’re continuously trying to find ways to involve the community with the Davies Center, so that was a main goal,” Heather Lee, assistant general manager of the bookstore, said.

The bookstore’s event was a free option for adults to snap a photo of their child with Santa and stop by the refreshments table for a cup of coffee or apple cider.

The book reading served as a rare opportunity for children to come to the university in a relaxed setting as well, Lee said. The experience of being on a college campus is eye-opening for many children, she said.

Lee brought her 5-year-old son to join the six other kids, under the age of 5, who came to the Davies Center to see Santa. However, these young children were not the only people excited to see Santa Claus. University students stopped by the bookstore throughout the event, happy to see the guest.

Casandra Lee, a junior, and Eva Ng, a senior, said they came specifically to see Santa and take photos with him. Casandra Lee said seeing Santa Claus on campus made their day.

Kosei Usuda, an international student from Japan, said he was pleasantly surprised to see Santa in the bookstore on a shopping trip. He took a picture with Santa to commemorate his time in Eau Claire and to bring back to his family.

The students may have seen the posters for the event placed around Davies Center, colored by an area kindergarten class. The coloring was yet another way children in the community got involved with Santa’s visit.

Phillip Jenc, the man behind the Santa suit, came to the bookstore because of a connection to Rhiannon Schaub, the operations manager. Schaub asked him to volunteer as Santa Claus for the event, and although Jenc had only dressed up as Santa Claus once many years ago, he said yes and eagerly donned the costume again.

“One of the things I really like about it is the children and making them happy,” Jenc said. “I love reading to children and seeing them laugh.”

Jenc said making adults unexpectedly happy is also a fun part of the gig.

Despite the small turnout, Schaub said the bookstore hopes to bring the event back on a bigger scale next year and in following years. The bookstore is considering involving more children with a coloring contest for the posters next year and involving the Children’s Nature Academy.

As the event drew to a close Saturday and Santa prepared to venture off to a new location, Schaub said “it was really nice to be able to make some people smile.”