KEAUHOU — Santa arrived on the Big Island Monday afternoon, not by air, but by boat, powered by an eight-reindeer motor into Keauhou Bay to visit all the good boys and girls at the Sheraton Kona Resort &Spa.
Arriving via the Kini Kini Hawaiian Sailing Canoe, kids and adults waved from Paakai Point as the jolly man in the red suit made his appearance.
For Tobias Baumgart and his family visiting from Oklahoma, by way of Germany, seeing Santa arrive in such an unusual manner was the highlight of the event, which also included a meet and greet with Mr. Claus himself in the Sheraton lobby.
The first words out of young Luuk Baumgart’s mouth was “did you see Santa come on the boat?”
Yes, everyone had a chance to see Santa arrive in his non-traditional straw hat and green hula grass skirt as he road the waves into shore.
“It was really good and fun,” Luuk Baumgart said.
“My favorite part was seeing Santa,” Luuk Baumgart’s younger brother Tristan Baumgart added.
“I didn’t know he could do that,” Tobias Baumgart chimed in.
The Sheraton has been putting on the Aloha Kalikimaka Santa Arrival for several years, but this was the first time hosting the event for new general manager Paul Evasick.
“I understand the hotel has been doing this for the last four or five years,” Evasick said. “I think the event is fabulous. People are here for the Christmas holidays… and you can see the excitement when they get to see Santa.”
Evasick, like the kids, seemed to get a real kick out of Santa’s arrival as well.
“He was dancing in a hula skirt,” Evasick said with a laugh. “It was very Hawaiian.”
The planning for the Santa visit started in October for the new GM and his team. The Sheraton also hosted a “Movie Under the Stars” showing of “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” earlier in the month, and has several other events to wrap up the year including a Christmas Day Prix Fix Dinner today as well as a Haleo New Years Eve Luau Celebration and New Years Eve Vintage Hawaii After Party on Dec. 31.
