Yampa — Trinity Delto made a lastminute Christmas request that Santa Claus had no trouble fulfilling Wednesday night – candy and a popcorn ball.

Clearly a Yampa Christmas Eve regular, 4-year-old Trinity knew exactly what was coming in the candy bag Santa would hand her as soon as she hopped off his lap at the town’s annual celebration in Yackey Park.

Trinity, however, would have to wait for Christmas morning to see if her next wish would come true.

“A Barbie – a pink one,” she said, taking an occasional bite out of snowball in her gloved hand.

While Trinity and her younger brother, James, indeed were feeling pumped for Christmas, dad Scott Delto doubted they would be bounding out of bed today despite the lure of presents under the tree.

“They have to go feed animals in the morning, so they won’t be super ready to get up,” he said.

The Deltos were among dozens of locals who stopped by Yampa’s Christmas Eve festivities, despite temperatures hovering near zero Wednesday evening.

Pink-cheeked children, bundled up nearly beyond recognition, came by foot and by sled for last-minute visits with Santa Claus in Yackey Park, behind the Yampa-Egeria Museum. Piping cups of hot chocolate and apple cider were popular among the parents, as they stood by with their cameras, queuing into the street for a chance for their children to sit on Santa’s lap under the town’s colorfully lit Christmas tree.

The adults assembled in Yackey Park got just as much of a kick out of Santa’s visit as the children did Wednesday night.

“It’s fun standing around, listening to the kids say what they want for Christmas,” Yampa resident Sharon Martin said. “One little girl, just a few minutes ago, she asked for a pony. A pony and a milk cow.”

After the crowd subsided, the Yampa Fire Protection District chauffeured Santa Claus across town to pay visits to senior citizens and deliver candy bags to them.

Santa thought he would have about 30 house calls to make – the longest list Yampa Fire Protection District Chief Dan Allen could remember him having.

– To reach Melinda Dudley, call 871-4203

or e-mail mdudley@steamboatpilot.com