HUBBARD — Since the annual Hubbard Christmas parade had to be canceled this year because of the pandemic, city and school officials came up with an alternative idea providing a drive-by visit to see Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Mayor Ben Kyle said Santa and Mrs. Claus arrived by firetruck and sat in chairs in front of Hubbard High School for more than two hours and were assisted by Hubbard’s eagle mascot waving to children as they passed by in cars.

Children gave their letters to Santa and received candy cane treats from Hubbard firefighters who assisted Santa and Mrs. Claus. The letters were placed in a large toy bag.

Marianne Hallapy, event coordinator, said since the annual “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” parade and visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus at Santa’s House at Tylee Park draws a huge amount of people, city and school officials wanted to do something on a smaller — and safer — scale.

“We knew we could not hold the parade because it gets packed and often is 8 to 10 feet deep with people watching from the sidewalks. This is a drive-thru with children not getting out of the cars,” Hallapy said.

Vehicles filled with children drove around the school complex Sunday evening and then drove by Santa and Mrs. Claus with children given a brief moment to say hello and tell Santa what they want for Christmas.

To add to the holiday festivities, pre-recorded holiday music by the school band and choir and music classes played in the background on the school public address system since the concerts had to be canceled.

Kyle said plans were to have the high school band playing at the event, but health guidelines made that impossible.

Isaac Powell, a senior at Hubbard High School, was the eagle mascot and while in 2019 he was the parade marshal, this year he was on the sidewalk waving to children and helping Santa and Mrs. Claus.

“The mascot is the face of Hubbard, and it’s great to have him here with us helping,” Kyle said. “As a nice alternative for the community, we created a Santa is Coming to Town drive-thru event. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be socially distanced to all the cars that come by. It was a true community effort to be able to do this and bring some Christmas joy to families while being as safe as possible. We hope this brings some happiness to the children of our community and gives them some normalcy for the Christmas holiday,” Kyle said.

Many families were appreciative for the event.

Mark and Andrea Mehalco were in their vehicle with their daughters, Bella, 4 and Maddie, 2.

“We were excited they did this. It is something different and gets everyone in the holiday spirit,” said Mark.

“It is safe but also gives families something to do for the holidays,” Andrea said.

Bella said she was most excited getting to see Santa Claus.

While only 7 months old, Johnny Nenadich was in the front seat with his parents, JT and Stacie, as he looked with surprise at Santa and Mrs. Claus waving at him.

“It was nice to be able to bring him here. This gets everyone in the holiday spirit,” Stacie said.

While Samantha Lias was driving the family vehicle, her daughter, Claire Lias, 2, looked out the window to place her letter to Santa in a large toy sack held by volunteer Mackenzie Pasco of Hubbard.

Ava Beach, 5, of Hubbard, also put her letter in the bag as she and the family’s dog, Slick, 8, shared a back seat window looking at all the festivities.