PRINCETON – Thirty-seven years ago someone suggested that Santa fly into the airport for the area children watch. Over the years this event has evolved into a wonderful annual event for families and those less fortunate.
The tradition will continue on Christmas Eve day when the Nierenberg family, owners of Princeton Airport, will open the hangar doors to area children while they await Santa’s arrival. The event began at a neighboring airport and the Nierenbergs brought the tradition to the Princeton Airport in 1985. This year the event will be held on Monday, December 24th. Airport Manager Kenneth Nierenberg (a.k.a. Santa) has confirmed Santa’s arrival time to be 11:00 A.M.
Participants come from far and wide for this happening. If you wish to have your children participate in the event, please bring a wrapped gift for each child with the name in large print to the lobby of the airport. If you have several children, wrap the gifts in the same paper and tie them together to expedite the distribution. Gifts should be no larger than 12” to accommodate Santa.
On the day of the event adults are advised to bring the children prior to 11:00 A.M. and wait in the Maintenance Hangar. While waiting, members of the Princeton Airport Flying Tigers will be serving cocoa and cookies. Ms. Pat McKinley, a local folk singer, will lead the audience in a variety of holiday songs. Chris Maslanka will provide the sound system. Santa will call in on the airplane’s radio to confirm his ETA (estimated time of arrival).
Once contact has been made with Santa, everyone will proceed outside onto the ramp in front of the hangar where they can watch Santa fly low over the runway. After he lands, Santa and everyone else will go into the hangar and Santa will distribute each gift individually.
The event will be held regardless of the weather conditions. Parents will have the opportunity to take pictures of their children on Santa’s lap. Typically the distribution lasts about an hour and a half.
The most important feature of this event is the collection of gifts for needy children. If you plan to participate, you are required to bring new unwrapped gifts of clothing, books, or toys. These gifts are being collected and distributed through the Mercer County Board of Social Services. Although toys are a common donation, items such as scarves, mittens, and other articles of clothing are welcome. Personal checks made out to the “FoodBank Network of Somerset County” will also be collected. The airport will have a container for the public to donate canned or boxed food to help the local food banks in this particularly difficult year. The public is asked to be extra generous this year in light of the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. The airport will gladly accept contributions from non-participants also.
The airport will begin the collection the day after Thanksgiving and it has set a deadline for the collection of both the gifts for area children and the needy of December 16th in order to enable county workers to arrange for the best matches for the needy. The gifts can be deposited in the “chimneys” in the lobby at the airport between the hours of 8:00 A.M. and 6:00 P.M. In fairness to all, Santa will distribute the gifts in the order in which they are received at the airport. Usually the distribution of the gifts is completed by 1:00 P.M. when Santa will continue his journey.
There is no charge for the event. Princeton Airport is located in Montgomery Township, 3.5 mile north of Princeton on Route 206. For further information, call 609-921-3100 or www.princetonairport.com.
Press Release
