DEC. 3, 2021
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Holiday H appenings Sponsored Content
Santa dove from the sky in Oceanside to kick off holiday OCEANSIDE – Santa Claus made a spectacular parachute landing at Mission Marketplace to launch Mission Marketplace’s Jingle Bell Jump event last Saturday. Local families came from miles around to welcome Santa Claus as he parachuted from an airplane for his holiday landing to greet over 2,000 families and kids eagerly
awaiting his arrival. And they were not disappointed: At approximately noon, Santa made his spectacular entrance to the shopping center to officially kick off a sensational holiday season with gusto! The Jingle Bell Jump lasted from 12 to 3 p.m. and served up nothing but holiday fun. Families used smartphones or cameras to take pictures of their
children’s visits with Santa. And the event also featured kids’ holiday craft and cookie decorating activities, carnival games, carnival rides, bingo games for prizes, complimentary churros and cotton candy, petting zoo, pony rides, carolers, balloon artist and more holiday fun. Mission Marketplace is located on the northwest corner of Highway 76 and
College Boulevard at 471 College Blvd. in Oceanside. Mission Marketplace is a one-stop experience for shopping, dining and more! With a variety of specialty stores, financial services and health services, there’s no need to go anywhere else. Make sure this onestop shop is part of your holiday shopping plan as you will find everything
you are looking for on your holiday list at Mission Marketplace. Visit missionmarketplaceoceanside.com or Facebook @missionmarketplace this holiday season for important updates, special hours and important holiday information.
manages a portfolio of over 85 shopping centers, including Mission Marketplace, valued at more than $2 billion. Since 1987, President and Chief Executive Officer Sandy Sigal has led the company of shopping centers representing over 1,800 tenants and 10 milABOUT NEWMARK lion square feet in CaliforMERRILL COMPANIES nia, Colorado and Illinois. NewMark Merrill For more information, visit Companies, Inc. owns or NewMarkMerrill.com.
SANTA CLAUS parachuted from an airplane for his holiday landing to greet over 2,000 families and kids eagerly awaiting his arrival.
Courtesy photos
Fill all your holiday gift ideas at your local Elam’s Hallmark stores!
THE ELAM FAMILY, Christie, Guy, Mary & Scott.
E
lam’s Hallmark’s mission is to put more care into the world, one card at a
time. The family-owned business has a long history in San Diego. Guy and Mary Elam started it back in 1979, with the help of their kids, Christie and Scott. Since then, they have managed to take a national brand and create a local staple in the community. Elam’s nine locations, three of which are in North County, have a wide variety of products, including greeting cards, holiday décor, licensed property and collectibles — like Star Wars and Harry Potter products — fashion and jewelry, gifts for men and women, a babies and toddlers section, home décor and more. “That’s what sets us apart. It’s not just your greeting cards and your gift
Courtesy photo
wrap anymore. It’s a Hallmark store, but people will come in and they’re shocked at the breadth of the product that we carry,” Scott Elam said. “We try to get in new product every week. People can come in the store once a week and they will see something new and different every time.” Elam’s prides itself on providing affordable and high-quality products in a warm and friendly atmosphere that is here for the community. “The biggest thing about us is that we employ your neighbors and friends,” Scott said. “It’s surprising how many people have either worked for Elam’s or know somebody that has worked for Elam’s in San Diego because we’ve been doing this for 45 years.” Now, more than ever, Elam’s wants to help people
build relationships and put more care into the world. “The amount of cards that we’re selling that are just ‘thinking of you’ care cards have really grown,” Scott said. “There’s a new line called Just Because, and it’s surprising how the much the community seems to love it, with people coming in and just wanting to give encouragement and support to the people around them.” With the holiday season just around the corner, Elam’s is the go-to shop for the perfect holiday gift or greeting card. Elam’s like to support the community. Customers can bring in toys for Toys for Tots during the holidays or can donate to Elam’s Hearts for CF, their annual Valentine’s Day fundraising initiative that raises money for cystic fibrosis. In the last eight years, Elam’s has raised over $100,000 for the cause! “We’re local. We partner with local charities and organizations. We’ve been in these communities for such a long time and we like to encourage people to shop local and shop small. Help support your local business, and right now, we need that more than anything,” Scott said. To learn more about Elam’s Hallmark or to find a store near you, visit ElamsHallmark.com.
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T he C oast News
DEC. 3, 2021
Holiday H appenings
HOLIDAY DRIVE-IN
The Carlsbad Charitable Foundation in coordination with the Shoppes at Carlsbad will host a holiday drive-in movie at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 3, presenting the classic holiday comedy “Elf.” The movie will be shown on a 40-foot screen behind the Sears building with sound through each car radio. Space is limited to the first 200 reservations and a suggested donation of $25 per car is recommended. RSVP to Estela Mitrani at estelam@sdfoundation.org. Courtesy photo
SAN MARCOS RESIDENT Bill Gilfillen has put on an iconic Christmas light display at his home on Knob Hill for more than 30 years. Photo by Tigist Layne
Knob Hill Christmas light display returns in San Marcos By Tigist Layne
SAN MARCOS — The famous “Christmas on Knob Hill” light display has returned, to the excitement of San Marcos residents. Bill Gilfillen, the display’s creator and owner of the home, took a break from the beloved tradition in 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis. For more than 30 years, Gilfillen, an 83-year-old retired Navy flight engineer, and his family have hosted Christmas on Knob Hill at their home at 1639 Knob Hill Road. Until Dec. 30, passersby can gather to see more than 100,000 holiday lights cover the Gilfillen residence, along with displays of Santas, reindeer, snowmen, sleighs, Disney characters, giant candy canes and more. One of his new decorations this year is a printed sign proudly displayed up front that outlines some of the Gilfillens’ values. It reads: “In this house, we believe Black lives matter. Women’s rights = human rights. No human is illegal. Embrace the science. Love
is Love.” Gilfillen said it took 3 months to get this year’s display set up with lights and displays that he’s been collecting for 30 years. “The reason I started doing it was because when I was young, growing up, the only thing that we had at Christmas time was going around and looking at the lights because I come from a very poor family,” Gilfillen said. “It was just plastic figurines and so forth at first, but it quickly grew to quite an elaborate display, and now we have people from all over San Diego, Arizona and Los Angeles that come to see the display every year.” On Monday night, Gilfillen, wearing his mask, happily walked outside to greet the visitors, many of whom came from different cities and states. In previous years, families could also enjoy a visit from Santa every night for about a week before Christmas. This year, Gilfillen tells the kids that come by that Santa won’t be at the house this year, but he will be at each of their houses on the
night of Christmas Eve. “I just enjoy doing it. I love to make people happy. I just love people in general, like I enjoy interacting with people and it gives me a lot of pleasure to just see people when they walk up to the display to see their eyes light up and smiles come on their faces,” Gilfillen said. Last year, the Gilfillen family made the difficult decision to cancel the display for their safety and for the safety of visitors. The family issued a statement back in 2020, which was also written on a white board outside of their home: “To all our friends who visit Christmas on Knob Hill: For the first time in over 30 years, due to the virus and our concern for our families’ and friends’ well-being, we will not have a display this year. But we promise 2021 will be bigger and brighter.” Gilfillen delivered on his promise this year of a bigger and brighter display. The only thing they ask is that visitors wear their masks while enjoying the lights.
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DEC. 3, 2021
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Holiday H appenings YMCA brings holiday joy to military families
Tangled Up in Christmas
By Samantha Nelson
CAMP PENDLETON — The holiday season is a joyous time, yet also a time of financial burden for many families, particularly young, active-duty military families who are often barely scraping by. To make sure everyone has the most wonderful time of the year, the Armed Services YMCA with the help of civilian donations provides hundreds of military families and thousands of children with toys, bikes, gift cards and more each year. Executive Director Samantha Holt said the base’s branch of the Armed Services YMCA will serve more than 600 families alone this year through its Santa’s Workshop event on Dec. 14 and 15. YMCA volunteers and staff will set up a large, 40by-40 foot tent and stock shelves with toys, bikes and other gifts for children at the YMCA’s site on base. The toys are sorted by gender and age as well as by day to keep the selection fair and the shelves full for both days of the event. Families come in and “shop” for three to four gifts per child just like they would in a store, but at no cost. Once the two workshop days are over, whatever toys are left will be packaged up and sent to the Marine Corps base in Twentynine Palms, where there is a smaller number of families living there. Holt said most of the toys or money donated to buy toys and gift cards come from civilian “Many of them have been donating for years, which is absolutely amazing,” Holt said. Some military families can also sign up for the YMCA’s Secret Santa program. Participating families write a wishlist of gifts, and then are “adopted” by a civilian family who buys those gifts for them. These holiday programs are only two of several different programs that the Armed Services YMCA runs throughout the year to help young, military families. The YMCA also provides a diaper and food distribution program, emer-
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LOCAL VOLUNTEERS Ron and Jan Zacharias, left, with board member Liz Rhea and her husband, George, prepare a supply of donated toys and gifts to be given to young military families for the holiday season at Camp Pendleton’s Armed Services YMCA. Photo by Samantha Nelson
gency financial support, childcare, afterschool programs, military ball gown giveaways and scholarships. Holt said these programs aim to strengthen the military family as a whole by helping these young families who don’t always have the support system they need when they first move here. “Picture this: you’re a young person who joined the military, sometimes you’re married and you have children and you come in from another part of the states to Southern California, which is expensive, and you’re away from family,” Holt said. “Childcare is expensive and hard to come by, so a lot of times our families have to live on one income which gets tight, which is part of the reason why we started our diaper and food distribution because our families were coming short between paychecks and needed extra support.” Holt said one of the biggest struggles for military families is being away from their own families, which is why the Armed Services YMCA strives to build a support system through the people it serves on base. Oceanside Councilmember Chris Rodriguez recalled how the Armed Services YMCA helped him and his young family when they moved to base in 2002. “I had heard about them through Command,” Rodriguez said. “For my
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wife they provided a ball gown, bunk beds for my kids, and a whole tree full of presents that we never would have been able to afford. They really blessed us.” Rodriguez said he and many other young families struggled when they first moved to base. “We had nothing, we had to build from scratch,” he said. “We were living paycheck to paycheck.” Holt also remembers moving to base as a young military spouse and struggling with being alone and without resources. “I know what it’s like to come here and be on your own, and with lower rankings the pay is obviously lower, so I understand what it’s like and what our families go through,” Holt said. “It’s nice to be able to connect those families with resources who can help them to be successful as a military family.” While similar in its core values, the Armed Services YMCA is different from the main YMCA organization specifically in its focus on aiding young military families by supplementing needs like childcare and extra support. There are several branches of its kind across the United States on or near military bases, including
three in Southern California with the one on Camp Pendleton, another in San Diego and a third in Twentynine Palms. The Armed Services YMCA at Camp Pendleton is accepting money, gift card and toy donations for its holiday program until Dec. 10. Those who wish to donate can contact the office by calling 760-3854921.
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T he C oast News
DEC. 3, 2021
SHOP MISSION MARKETPLACE
For all your
Holiday Needs! Conveniently located at College Blvd and HWY 76, you will find a one stop experience for shopping, dining, entertainment and more. With a variety of specialty stores, restaurants, grocery store and more, you will find a convenient way to check off everything on your holiday list.
DIRECTORY MAJORS
Big Lots! ...................................... 760-945-8284 Five Below .................................... 760-227-9830 Petsmart ...................................... 760-666-6321 Regal Cinemas ............................. 844-462-7342 Sprouts Farmers Market .............. 760-726-7274 Target ........................................... 780-686-6778
RESTAURANTS
Chipotle........................................ 760-758-1493 El Polio Loco ................................ 760-407-8279 Golden Corral ............................... 780-839-6240 Mcdonald’s................................... 764-758-7323 Mountain Mike’s Pizza.................. 760-295-3121 Ohana Hawaiian BBQ ................... 760-630-6800 Subway ........................................ 760-940-1094 Victoria’s Mexican Food ............... 760-414-1104
SERVICES
Alterations Studio ........................ 760-414-9012 Bank of America ........................... 760-666-6234 College Coin Laundry ................... 760-941-5661 Oceanside Police Department Resource Center........................... 780-435-4900 Peppertree Montessori School ..... 760-940-1931 T-mobile ....................................... 760.994-4701
427 College Blvd • 760-630-8247 MissionMarketplaceOceanside.com
FASHION & APPAREL
Ross............................................. 760-414-3438
HEALTH & BEAUTY
College Dental Group ................... 760-631-3060 College Pet Clinic ......................... 760-831-2080 Fitness 19 .................................... 760-414-1919 Happiness Nails ........................... 760-266-7834 Key Martial Arts ........................... 760-231-5770 Thunder 6 Barber Shop ................ 760-726-9936
PROFESSIONALS
Cox Communications, Inc ................... 631-0559 Jackson Hewitt Tax Services ............... 940-6325 The Doug West Group......................... 710-7345
SPECIALTY STORES
Direct Carpet ................................ 760-237-4244 Gamestop..................................... 760-414-9373 Oceanside Automotive ................. 760-414-9850 Oceanside Tire &Service Ctr ........ 760-940-1100 Omega Bicycle Shop .................... 760-631-2834
DEC. 3, 2021
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Holiday H appenings 6 p.m. Dec. 5, in downtown Cardiff-by-the-Sea. Start or end your Taste experience at Ki's and Tower 13. There will be a free bike valet courtesy of Electra Bicycle Company in front of Harbaugh Parkway on Chesterfield Drive and San Elijo Avenue. Taste & Sip tickets are $40. Taste tickets are $30 at 2021toc.ticketspice.com/ taste-of-cardiff-2021.
CALENDAR Know something that’s going on? Send it to calendar@ coastnewsgroup.com
DEC. 3
LANDSCAPE ADVICE
Small and large residential landscape design will be the topic at 1:45 p.m. Dec. 3 at the Gloria McClellan Senior Center, 1400 Vale Terrace Drive. The speaker is Matt Cornforth of Second Nature Landscapes. Plants will be available for purchase. Fingertip lunch at noon. Visit californiagardenclubs.com/vistagardenclub or e-mail Vistagardenclub@gmail.com. LUNCH WITH REPUBLICANS
Make reservations now for the Republican Women of California – San Marcos luncheon at 11 a.m. Dec. 6 with guest, San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister, at the St. Mark Country Club 1750 San Pablo Drive, Lake San Marcos. There will also be a holiday white elephant swap/gift exchange. Reservations close at noon Dec. 3. For more information, call (760) 744-0953 or sglass51@ gmail.com. REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR
Register by noon Dec. 3 for the Carlsbad Republican Women holiday celebration at 11 a.m. Dec. 7 at the Holiday Inn, 2725 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad. The guest will be a Pearl Harbor survivor. For ticket options, menu choices, and to RSVP online, go to CarlsbadRepublicans.com. No payments will be accepted at the door. For more information, contact Ann at (760) 415-7006 or annie13035@yahoo.com. HOLIDAY DRIVE-IN
HOLIDAY MARKET
The San Marcos Holiday Market, hosted by the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce, will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 5 with decorations, treats, live music and a visit from Santa Claus. SEAWORLD SAN DIEGO’S Christmas Celebration runs through Jan. 2. See Dec. 7 for details.
Dieguito Academy location. visit Oceanside businesses, corridor. Browse through the Masks are required. destinations and events for topics and participate in the a chance to win local prizes. activities. The deadline to submit comments is Dec. 13. HANUKKAH PARTY Leave commentary on the The Chabad of Oceans- BREAKFAST IN BETHLEHEM ide/Vista is hosting ComStart the Christmas project at https://encinitasmunity Hanukkah Party at season at the Rancho San- ca.gov/Government/Depart6 p.m. Dec. 4 at 1930 Sun- ta Fe Village Presbyterian ments / Development- Serset Drive, Vista, with Ha- Church with “Breakfast in vices / Planning-Division / vdallah, menorah lighting, Bethlehem” at 9 a.m. Dec. 4 Policy-Planning/El-Camicocktails, latkes, a Hanuk- at 6225 Paseo Delicias, Ran- no-Real-Specific-Plan. kah disco, crafts, games cho Santa Fe. Children can and more. RSVP to jewish- make ornaments and Christoceanside.com. mas crafts. Reservations required at villagechurch.org/ HIT THE LIGHTS breakfast-in-bethlehem. The city of Solana CHRISTMAS PARADE Beach’s Parks and RecreThe annual Vista ation Commission is hosting Christmas Parade is gearing MERRY MAKERS FAIR up and will be step off at 1 Come meet local ven- the annual Holiday Tree p.m. Dec. 4 in downtown Vis- dors with handcrafted Lighting event, 4:30 to 7 ta. More information at vis- products at The Holiday p.m. Dec. 5 at Fletcher Cove tachamber.org. Showcase, a Carlsbad Vil- Park, 111 S Sierra Ave., with lage Makers Market from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 4, at St. DOWNTOWN FUN The Oceanside Holiday Michael's by-the-Sea EpiscoChallenge runs through pal Church, 2775 Carlsbad Dec. 12 for a chance to shop, Blvd., Carlsbad, for holiday eat and play local this holi- shopping of all kinds. day season. Download the scavenger hunt mobile app LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK and register at mainstreeThe city of Encinitas tocea nside.com / ocea ns - would like feedback in reideholidaychallenge. Then gards to the El Camino Real
DEC. 5
The Carlsbad Charitable Foundation and the Shoppes at Carlsbad host a holiday drive-in movie at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 3, showing “Elf” on a 40-foot screen behind the Sears building, with sound through each car radio. Space limited to the first 200 reservations and a suggested donation of $25 per car is recommended. RSVP to Estela Mitrani at estelam@sdfoundation.org. BLUE SUNDAY
The Village Church hosts a special Blue Christmas Service of Remembrance at 11 a.m. Dec. 3 at 6225 Paseo Delicias, Rancho Santa Fe, for those who grieve during the holidays.
DEC. 4
SHUTTLE TO PARADE
A free Holiday Parade Shuttle bus will take parade spectators to and from the Encinitas Holiday Parade Dec. 4 on Coast Highway 101, every 20 minutes from Ecke Sports Park/YMCA and San Dieguito Academy High School (parking lot at corner of Melba Road/Nardo Road). Both shuttles start at 4 p.m. with last pick-ups at 8:30 p.m. The ADA accessible buses run from the San
Sunday, December 5, 2021 • 3:00-6:00 pm Downtown Cardiff & Restaurant Row For event details and to purchase tickets, visit: cardiff101.com/events SCAN THE QR CODE TO PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS DIRECTLY!
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:
Courtesy photo
sweets, cider and cocoa, the Hullabaloo Band, and youth choir from Saint James Academy. Santa arrives by a fire-truck escort at 5:20 p.m. KRINGLE MINGLE
Join the Kringle Mingle from noon to 5 pm. Dec. 5 in downtown Cardiff-by-theSea and Restaurant Row along South Coast Highway 101. Photos with Santa from 1 to 4 p.m. on Aberdeen Drive, plus children’s crafts, local musicians and holiday treats provided by Cardiff 101 Main Street. TASTE OF CARDIFF
The 11th annual Taste of Cardiff will be from 3 to
HANUKKAH AT ONE PASEO
Having lit its holiday tree, One Paseo will host a Menorah Lighting celebration with the Chabad Jewish Center of Rancho Santa Fe from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Dec. 5 and will be host to a Menorah in celebration of Hanukkah through Dec. 6. BOOK FAIR
The Assistance League of North Coast and Barnes & Noble of Oceanside team up to collect books through Dec. 24, for ALNC’s annual book donation program to local schools. From 2 to 4 p.m. Dec. 5, there will be a holiday storytime and arts and crafts. Buy a pre-K through fifth-grade book to benefit TURN TO CALENDARD ON A18