When Santa Claus comes to town, you can bet a lot of children will follow.
Such was the case Sunday afternoon at the Cup Defenders Association Antonio DuPont Memorial Hall, where a number of neighborhood (and beyond) children congregated for the club’s 88th annual Children’s Christmas Party. It was a sight to warm anyone’s heart.

“This is such a great thing for the children every year,” said Elizabeth Trout, who has recognized its positive influence on neighborhood children for many years. “It’s always exciting to see Santa interact with these kids at this very special time of the year.”

Normally, Santa arrives via a local fire truck around 12 p.m., but this year, the white-bearded one (club president Steve Cavalieri) made his grand entrance by way of the kitchen area opposite DuPont Hall. Regardless of how Santa got there, the kids were still in a euphoric state of mind when he arrived.

The usual multitude of special Christmas gifts, which included toys of every description for boys and girls, as well as brand new bikes which were given out to lucky winners, put wide smiles on these kids’ faces. In addition, there were pizza squares, specialty finger sandwiches, desserts, and juice drinks for all to enjoy.

The Cup Defenders Association, one of the town of Bristol’s most heralded organizations, has always enjoyed giving the children this special treat just before Christmas.

It all started in 1935, when the late Orlando J. Bisbano, founder and first president of this organization, came up with the idea to do something special for neighborhood children during the Christmas season. Needless to say, his idea has long been a staple of the community.