Meet Santa Claus and Characters from Puppetry Arts on Dec. 16

A local puppet theatre program in Park Slope will bring kids together with Santa (and some fuzzy puppets) for Christmas.

Puppetry Arts, a nonprofit educational theatre program for kids on Sixth Avenue, will host a meet and greet at 7-Eleven on Fifth Avenue on Dec. 16 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Santa and puppet characters from the family musical FuzzBuckets will be at the 7-Eleven at 13th Street to meet, take photos and spend time with kids.

Characters like Grizzel, Vierde and Tuffy Tiger will be on hand to put smiles on faces, along with free hot chocolate and prizes.

As part of this neighborhood outreach, Puppetry Arts is asking the community to invest in the charity's mission and to make a donation and drop off gifts for the Toys for Tots program.

With every drop off, people will be entered to win a $50 Gift Card from 7-Eleven and a free puppet-making workshop for the winner's classroom/school of their choice.

"Puppetry Arts is in fact the little organization that does big things," says executive director Tim Young. "This event welcomes everyone to come together and celebrate, especially with the many challenges we have faced as a community lately. It will be a humble but wonderful chance to put a smile on many faces."