SPANISH FORT, Ala.— ’Twas the Thursday before Christmas at Five Rivers Delta Resource Center when children gathered dressed in pajamas with their favorite blankets in  hand for the second annual reading of “The Night Before Christmas” by Clement Clarke Moore.

About 50 children eagerly waited by the fireplace in the Longleaf Room for the three Christmas stories  of the evening to be read.

The first lady of Spanish Fort, Debbie Bonner, started the evening by reading “Mistletoe and the Christmas Kittens” by Joe Troiano.

State Rep. Randy Davis read “Olive, the Other Reindeer” by Vivian Walsh as the kids sat and listened.

To the children’s surprise, Santa Claus arrived just in time to read the final story of the evening: “The Night Before Christmas.”

The children clapped and cheered in delight of the story, which some said was their favorite Christmas tale.

“I like it because my dad reads it to me … when we put out milk and cookies (on Christmas eve), 7-year-old Macey Evans said after she heard the story.

“It makes me ready for presents,” 6-year old Vincent Lackey said of the story.

Children of all ages were dressed in Christmas-themed pajamas while some couldn’t help falling asleep on their blanket during the reading.

Parents seemed just as excited as the children.

“It’s memories like this that I want my son to remember when he’s all grown,” Dorothy Fulford said of her 4-year-old son, Max. “Heck, they’re good memories for me, too.”

Many came back this year after they said their family enjoyed last year’s reading.

“We just heard about it today and were thrilled to do it all over again,” Chrystal Martin said. “This is sheer delight.”

This year saw a much bigger turnout than last year, organizer Donna Dunning said.

“We did this last year and loved it, loved everything about it, so we had to come again,” Cyndi Thompson said of she and her 7-year-old daughter Grace’s visit to the reading.

After the book readings children snacked on holiday cookies and sipped on apple juice while others seemed to enjoy playing around in their pajamas in public. 

“It was a great success,” Dunning said. “If you looked at the kids’ faces you know they had a good time.

“We had a lot of fun with it.”