Earlier this month Delta employees operated the Santa Express, whisking children away on a fantasy flight to the North Pole to see Santa Claus! The lucky children who got to experience this fun-filled evening were from the El Centro de la Raza and Big Brothers/Big Sisters Program of Puget Sound.

Peter Ruskin and I were asked to be flight leaders of the Santa Express last June. We picked our crew, 8 other flight attendants from theSeattlearea, who all had a special love of helping children. To get ready. we purchased decorations and planned activities for the flight– some of our crew even enlisted their own children (reindeer antlers and blinking red noses) to help out!

We rewrote our safety demonstration to The Night Before Christmas to start out our flight in the Holiday spirit. For ‘take-off,’ our pilots and ground crew made use of a high speed tug that taxied us around the airport and then parked at a remote area where we had lunch and watched two volunteer entertainers sing and play guitar. Our local pilot group purchased copies of If I could Fly An Airplane for each child onboard—they loved it! The book is about a child’s first flight on Delta and was written by A flight attendant, Lauren Lemos who autographed each copy. We read it using the PA for all the kids onboard.

Before ‘landing’ at the snowy and cold North Pole we served hot chocolate and passed out baseball caps for the children to wear and keep their heads warm while visiting Santa.

This flight was all about hope and joy for the children onboard the flight and employees who volunteered their time. As flight attendants, many of us view an airplane as our home in the sky. We view ourselves as a family. To be able to open up our home, decorate it with Christmas cheer and fill it full of excited children was a wonderful dream realized.

We’re happy to share the spirit of the season with this special group of passengers. Have you ever done something to make the holiday season brighter for a group of children? We want to hear your stories.

Susan V.N.

Seattle-based flight attendant