By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Santa Claus will take a break from his last-minute preparations at the North Pole on Christmas Eve to visit children throughout Alabaster, and the city’s Fire Department is encouraging residents to keep an eye on the department’s Facebook page for Santa’s status on Dec. 24.

The AFD will continue a long-standing Christmas Eve tradition when it escorts Santa through the city on top of a fire truck. The department has released a tentative schedule for Santa’s arrival to each neighborhood, but Fire Chief Jim Golden said the department will continually post updates to Facebook.com/AlabasterFire after Santa begins his trip through the city.

“We will have someone at the command center posting those updates all day,” Golden said, noting the Alabaster Fire Department Facebook page is an open page, meaning its contents are viewable by everyone. “It’s just so much easier to do that through our Facebook page.”

While traveling through Alabaster, Santa will stop only at designated Santa Stops, which will be indicated by red and yellow signs placed after Dec. 15.

The following is a tentative schedule for Santa’s visits:

1 p.m.  Portsouth

Cedar Grove

Kingwood/Spring Gate

Norwick Forest

 

1:30 p.m.   Sterling Gate

1:40 p.m.   Northwest/Old Town

 

1:45 p.m.   Meadowlark/Willow Creek/ Willow Point

 

1:50 p.m.   Cedar Grove Mobile Home Park

 

2 p.m.   Woodland Hills

Southwind

2:30 p.m.   Navajo Hills

Amberly Woods

Autumn Ridge

Cambridge Point 1/Summer Brook

 

2:35 p.m.   Chinaberry

2:40 p.m.   Greenfield

2:45 p.m.   Eaglewood Estates

3:00 p.m.   The View Apartments

3:10 p.m.   Applegate Townhomes

3:15 p.m.   Cambridge Point 2

Ashford Heights

Lacey’s Grove

3:20 p.m.   Northeast (Brown Circle/Hillwood Area)

3:30 p.m.   Falling Waters

3:35 p.m.   Shalimar Pointe

3:40 p.m.   Bermuda Lake

Knox Mobile Home Park

3:50 p.m.   Maylene

4:00 p.m.   Peavine Mobile Home Park

Grande View Gardens

4:10 p.m.   Grande View Estates

4:15 p.m.   Lake Terrace

4:20 p.m.   Wellington Manor

4:25 p.m.   Apache Ridge

Berryhill

4:35 p.m.   Weatherly

Southwest

4:45 p.m.   Navajo Pines

5:15 p.m.   Stoney Meadows

5:20 p.m.   Cedar Meadows

5:30 p.m.   Fox Valley Farms

5:40 p.m.   Siluria

5:45 p.m.   First Avenue and 2000 Block

Maplewood/Shady Oak Lane

5:55 p.m.   Woodbrook Apartments

Maple Ridge

6 p.m.   Smoke Ridge

6:10 p.m.   Buck Creek Landing

Mission Hills

6:15 p.m.   Tanglewood

South – East

Ironwoods

6:20 p.m.   Douglas Meadows

6:25 p.m.   Wynlake

6:30 p.m.   Timber Ridge

Park Place

6:45 p.m.   Stage Coach

The Meadows

6:55 p.m.   Keystone Mobile Home Park

7 p.m.   Dogwood Forest/Forest Hills

7:10 p.m.   Kentwood

Silver Creek

7:15 p.m.   Shelby Farms

7:20 p.m.   Betty Snow

7:25 p.m.   South Field Gardens

7:30 p.m.   Scottsdale

Lake Forest

7:35 p.m.   South Forty

7:35 p.m.   Golden Meadows

7:45 p.m.   Park Forest back sector

7:50 p.m.   Saddle Lake

8:05 p.m.   Terri-Lynn Mobile Home Park

8:10 p.m.  Green Valley

8:15 p.m.   Park Forest Village

8:25 p.m.   Meadowview/Willow Glen

8:30 p.m.   Crosscut Road and Sawmill Trace Road

Mountain Lakes

Carriage Hills

8:35 p.m.   Crosscut Road and Carriage Lane

Wisteria

8:40 p.m.   The Grove

8:55 p.m.   Windy Oaks