Santa is everywhere this time of year. He steps from a Berne fire engine strung with colored lights as part of the Hilltown Christmas parade on Sunday. One of the marchers wearing a Santa hat was Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple. After the parade, Santa settled in at the Berne Masonic Temple with Mrs. Claus where, nose to nose with a poised child, he hears Christmas wishes.
Meanwhile, at the Westmere firehouse, 10-month-old John Brown does a startled double-take as he gazes at Santa’s white whiskers. And little Ella Coonradt, also 10 months old,  dressed for the occasion in a red-and-white polka-dot outfit, is attracted to some tinsel on the tree beside Santa. Older kids sat beside Santa rather than in his lap. One of them, 11-year-old Maggie Swan, looked engaging as she told Santa her wishes.

— Photographs by Michael Koff