Santa Claus is Coming to Town - VI

A band blaring out "Santa Claus is coming to town" always announced his arrival. One can only think that the poor band members were ready to run screaming into the streets after playing the same tune for two hours.

Earlier Santa's arrived in a variety of conveyances - horse, train, aeroplane and one year in a giant silver fish (!!!!) but by the 50s it was the tradition sleigh drawn by reindeer. And you'll notice that Rudolph is not amongst the lot - he was the mascot of the rival Simpson's store across the street!

And up he headed to Toyland. Where you could ride on Punkinhead's train, play in a fish pond and sit on Santa's lap for a few precious minutes as you whispered your heart's desire into his ear.

20 decembre - San Domenico di Silos

Santa Claus is Coming to Town - V

Sometimes the connection with Santa, Christmas or Fairy Tales was a trifle vague but as long as it was colourful it didn't really matter.
Of course many of the floats were recycled with a chance of colour, an alteration of structure. This year's Animal Fair could be next year's Circus Float - but only the most precocious of children - who are you smirking at? - would have noticed.
Santa was always preceded by a float to remind us - if the blowing snow and below zero temperatures weren't enough as you sat on the curbside - that he came from the North Pole. I recall Teresa Michaelski and I having a heated discussion as to whither the Ice Queen's palace should be coloured blue or pink. What color was ice in your world?

19 decembre - San Dario di Nicea

Santa Claus is Coming to Town - IV

A few more floats, marchers and bands before the man of the hour appears!


The parade route in the 1950s was about 10 kilometres through the centre of Toronto from Christie Street down to Yonge and Queen St where a special staircase led Santa right into Eaton's Toyland.

That first colouring book was very detailed in design and looking at it now it would have been very difficult for some kids to "stay between the lines". Following editions were less accurate depictions of the floats but easier to colour.



18 decembre - San Malachia O'Morgair

Santa Claus is Coming to Town - III

And the parade continues. Most of the marchers in the parade were Eaton's store employees and their families.

I always wanted to be in the parade but I have a feeling the thought of being at the Christie St Transit Barns at 0430 parade morning was the main reason my parent's dissuaded me of the idea.

To a five year old it was a mystery how they could walk on their hands for so long! But then clowns could do anything.

Okay the green duck may have been a flight of my imagination but the cow? No I'm pretty sure cows were purple back then!

17 decembre - San Giovanni de Matha

Santa Claus is Coming to Town - II

There was a brief while in the 30s-40s where more commercial characters like Felix the Cat appeared but by the 1950s the parade was made up of characters from fairy tales, nursery rhymes and childrens books.Clowns were a feature of all the parades - my own favorite were the upside down clowns. The big heads, more in the Mardi Gras tradition, frightened me for some reason.
The tableau wagons were a hold over from the old style Circus parade - and figures could be moved from small wagons to bigger theme wagons in another year's parade.
It hardly mattered that next year Cinderella's coach, minus the crown, would become the property of Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater and his wife. It was all magical.

16 decembre - Sant'Albina

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town - I

Back when I was a wee Willym - or actually Billy or if my mother was really ticked "Billyjohn" - the end of November marked a momentous occasion: Santa Claus came to town. The Eaton's Santa Claus Parade was the big event that launched the Christmas season. After that Toyland was open, Santa was there, the Christmas windows were in full display and Santa had a radio programme on CFRB. At 5:55 every week night - he had weekends off to make the toys I guess - he and Punkinhead would tell us a story and if you were lucky read your letter on the air. As a small tyke I was infamous for going hysterical on the evening of December 24 when Santa said goodbye for another year. Even at 5 I hated adieus.

The Eaton's Parade had started in 1905 and according to an absolutely fascinating - for me at least - section on the Ontario Archive website several of the early parades took two days to wend their way the 32 mile route from Newmarket to Union Station in Toronto - the route was later restricted to downtown Toronto. In those days the parades consisted of one horse-drawn float, a band and a few marchers. People came out from the farms that lined the mud road to greet Santa and no doubt would be running to their Eaton's Christmas catalogue the minute they got back into the house.

And many years later we would do exactly the same thing - come home from the parade and open the Eaton's Christmas Catalogue. But one item had already been ordered and received that had us all prepared for the Big Parade - the Eaton's Santa Claus Parade Colouring Book. As I understand it the first one was published in 1951 and chances are I had it as a 4 year old, no doubt biting my tongue in earnest concentration as I tried to stay between the lines for the purple cows that were on in the Farmer's dell.

Over the next few days I thought I'd flip through those pages and see how Santa was welcomed to Toronto* back in 1951.

In those days Santa had his little sidekick with the shock of woolly ginger hair - Punkinhead.

Punkinhead was launched by Eaton's in 1948 and was to be their Christmas mascot for the next twelve years. I recall having a Punkinhead doll, a Punkinhead puppet and probably Punkinhead flannel sheets for the winter.

*Eaton's also had similar parades in Montreal and Winnipeg.

15 decembre - Santa Maria Crocifissa di Rosa