A winter wonderland that’s Snow Much Fun

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Adults and children took turns riding pool floats down makeshift snow hills at at the Malibu Pacific Church's Snow Much Fun holiday event.

Attendees of all ages have tons of fun at Malibu Pacific Church’s traditional snow and sledding event

Eager and delighted kids sporting snowsuits and dragging blown-up toy tires for sledding went racing up the walkway with dads and moms in hot pursuit as they admonished them to put on their hats and gloves. 

“We’ve created a blessing for Malibu!” Pastor Andy VomSteeg of Malibu Pacific Church declared. “Last year, we had 400 RSVP’s for our annual Snow Much Fun. However, this year, we’ve had 678 people who signed up to enjoy tonight.”

The idea is: If you don’t have snow in your town, just have it brought in with huge snowflake machines.

Kids of all ages did a double take as they passed by organizer Joel Dunn, who was very realistically dressed as Buddy from “Elf,” the Christmas comedy film. “We purchased literally tons of snow for the event! Three thousand pounds of it!” Dunn declared, adding, “North Hollywood Ice is fantastic to help us provide this event every year.” 

Of course, being a Christmas elf, Dunn was super busy. So, after joyfully saying, “this event has been one of my dreams to do and now, we’ve done it for several years,” he quickly excused himself, grabbed a mike and jubilantly belted out an announcement: “’Elf’ is playing in the church in 10 minutes and of course, there is popcorn!”

Outside, as Bing Crosby’s “Mistletoe and Holly” and other favorite holiday tunes cheerfully set the mood, kids of all ages queued for the little sled run, a small mound of ice with a cool run, designated for those aged 4 and under, and the big sled run for everyone else. 

When The Malibu Times sought attendees’ opinions about the experience, as his mother Joslyn Shoop lovingly looked on, little Beau Shoop, 5, pondered for a second and responded. “I like the eating. And the movie.” 

The crafts table attracted kids of all ages, including little Emery Thomason Magenheim, 7, and her grandmother, Traudi Thomason, who is endearingly known as “Omi.” Emery briefly stood in the doorway,  surveying the creative opportunity as children made snowman ornaments. However, Emery concluded that she might come back to do crafts later because there was so much to enjoy!

One could visit Mike’s Mini Donuts, where she had to choose between regular powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar. Of course, many opted to choose both. Why not? It’s the holidays! Of course, there was hot chocolate to go with it.

“It’s very very Willy Wonka-esque around here,” proprietor Mike Stellman said. “I love sharing the donuts and helping to bring holiday joy and spirit.” 

When asked what she thought about the whole affair, little Jordan Johnson, 3, simply grinned and grinned and grinned some more.“We love this impressive event that is free to the community,” said Jordan’s dad, Joel Johnson. “There are very few large spaces for kids and families to congregate in Malibu and it’s so nice to be here.”

Many attendees patiently waited in line at the balloon-animal-making booth. 

“Please make a dog balloon for me,” Little Alexander Borine politely requested, “Make a purple and black dog!”

Joe Dunavan of Joe’s Party Animals easily obliged the child’s request.

“I brought 10,000 balloons tonight,” he said. “I’ve been making animal balloons for kids for 14 years because it’s so much fun!”

Stephania Borine, Alexander’s mom, noted, “This event has become an annual holiday tradition for our family — it’s a great opportunity to meet and connect with many in the Malibu community.”

Inside the church’s gathering place, as she has done for many years, Wailani O’Herlihy cheerfully greeted countless attendees with a hearty, “Come On! Have your pictures taken!” 

Families with babies, families with grandparents, and families of several generations joined groups of teens and pre-teens, all waiting in line to get their pictures taken to commemorate a wonderful holiday evening.

As more traditional holiday songs delighted attendees, they slowly left the fun event along a candy cane walkway, ready to enjoy further festivities in Malibu this holiday season.

Readers can join in on the holiday festivities around town, including visiting with Santa and Mrs. Claus at Trancas Country Market or catching up with them at Malibu Country Market, enjoying the annual Woodie Parade on Dec. 14, taking in the Community Chanukah celebration featuring a grand gelt drop and kids activities and latkes, donuts, and more, which is sponsored by the Chabad of Malibu at Point Dume Plaza Shopping Center on Dec. 26 at 3 p.m. Of course, there’s also the community’s cherished annual Christmas Eve parade with Santa and reindeers on Christmas Eve in Point Dume. 

If one gets a wee bit overwhelmed with all the holiday goings on, he might want to stop for a moment to reflect at the similarly-cherished tradition of having Malibu’s Nativity Scene, which will be on display at Pacific Coast Highway and Webb Way through Jan. 6. Check the The Malibu Times calendar of events for times and dates.