When I was a kid we had a family tradition on Christmas Eve Day. My dad would take the four of us out for lunch, no doubt to give mom time to wrap some gifts and get the house ready for the Christmas Eve festivities.
Dad would take us the Rum Runner Restaurant in Sea Bright in the days before Tim McLoone owned the place. The owner, Nicky Aggidio, a bit of local character, would see us coming through the door at noon and call out, “Good news kids, I just checked the radar and Santa Claus is in Hoboken!”
Now we suburban kids did not know where Hoboken was, nor could we determine exactly why Santa would be delivering gifts in the middle of the day. But it was nice to have the reassurance.
Merry Christmas, and if you see some little kids today, be sure to tell them that Santa Claus is in Hoboken.