There’s no lack of Christmas spirit in Ashland, Ohio. Each year, various events across town allow for Ashlanders to come together and celebrate the holidays as a community.
The annual Christmas parade will again be held on Dec. 4 at 6 p.m. Like last year, a longer parade route will take participants from Ashland University’s campus at King Road all the way downtown through Main Street.
After the parade, the Corner Park Christmas tree lighting will take place, with a firework display as the cherry on top.
Santa’s Mailbox will also be at Corner Park this December.
Now in its third year, the bright red mailbox will again be a source of joy for children across the city as they send letters and wish lists to the Northpole.
The mailbox will be put up on Corner Park on Dec. 1 by the Coffy family. The longtime Ashlander family organizes the mailbox’s setup and production each year, with Chris Coffy at the head of the operation.
Letters received between Dec. 1 and 21 will receive a response from Santa, Mrs. Clause or the elves.
“I think this is a really important thing for kids here, especially since this is another Christmas under the shadow of the pandemic,” Chris Coffy said.
Coffy writes many of the letters herself, but enlists the help of “elves” to help with the overwhelming amount of letters she receives. Citizens from the The Good Shepherd Senior Citizen Center, Ashland County Council On Aging and Ashland University help with the endeavor.
Last year, over 700 children wrote letters.
“As long as kids put a return address on their letters, they’ll get a response no matter what,” Coffy said. “Rather than just promise kids they’re going to get what they want, we really try hard to leave positive and hopeful messages to them. Each letter is individualized and takes a lot of thought.”
Anyone interested in helping respond to letters is encouraged to message @ashlandsantamailbox on Facebook.