FCSLA Chicago Welcomes St. Nicholas

On November 6th, 2023, Chicago District members joined together to enjoy the afternoon and welcome St. Nicholas at their annual St. Nicholas Family Party. This annual event, which was postponed for two years due to the pandemic, was held at the Worth Park District gymnasium, in Worth, Illinois.

Over 110 guests enjoyed an afternoon filled with Christmas crafts for the children, Split the Pot cash raffle, Hooligan, a very popular dice game for both children and adults, and a Split the Pot Bingo. The Split the Pot raffle and Bingo collected over $600 in funds as part of the District’s Matching Funds project to benefit the Missionary Sisters of St Benedict in Oak Forest, IL. The afternoon also included a delicious lunch buffet and desserts.

The highlight of the afternoon was a visit from St. Nicholas, himself.  St. Nicholas told stories of his experiences and interacted with the children as they acted out the various scenes St. Nicholas was describing. After an engaging and entertaining presentation, St. Nicholas posed for photos with the guests to commemorate this experience.

The afternoon ended with a raffle. Guests were allowed to buy raffle tickets and select which of the many prizes they wanted a chance to win by entering their raffle ticket for the prize of their choice.

Many thanks to the many hands that brought this event together including the Chicago District Board for running this event, Branch S225 for coordinating the crafts, S180 for Bingo, S421 for running the raffle and Split the Pot, S258 for coordinating Hooligan and the food, S485 for sponsoring St. Nicholas, and FCSLA Home Office for matching our funds collected. Everyone attending enjoyed this wonderful afternoon of fraternal fellowship and a great way to begin the Christmas Season.