Country music stars bring Santa Claus to children’s hospital

BISMARCK, N.D., Dec. 13, 2018 — Kids staying at Sanford Children’s Hospital in Bismarck, North Dakota, received a special surprise on Thursday when Santa Claus and a few of his friends stopped by.

Among them were crew members of the country music band Old Dominion, one of whom played Santa.

“It just makes my heart warm to see them smile,” he said.

Santa and the band regularly visit children’s hospitals in cities they perform at across the country during the holiday season.

“We’ve gotten some opportunities to do this kind of thing before, and we always leave feeling like we should do it more,” said lead singer Matthew Ramsey. “So, this just seemed like a little extra special just to be able to bring Santa.”

Smiles surrounded the band. Kids lined up in the play area to see Santa and give him their Christmas wish list. They also took pictures with him and the Old Dominion band members., who said these visits are about spreading holiday cheer.

“A lot of kids don’t get to see Santa because they’re in a place like this, so if we can bring a little bit of happiness, then of course we’re going to,” said Ramsey. “That’s one of the favorite parts of our shows, too, is to look out and see the smiles because of our music. So if we can do that with Santa and our music, we’re going to leave here with a little bit of holiday spirit, for sure.”

The band says hopefully each visit to a children’s hospital makes a child’s day.

“You know that they probably have a lot of tough days and when you see them light up and not think about anything else, it’s awesome,” said guitarist Trevor Rosen.

“They’re going through such a rough time and just to make a child smile is what Santa is all about,” Santa added.

Old Dominion plays at the Bismarck Event Center on Thursday night. Next stops include Fargo, North Dakota, and Duluth, Minnesota, before taking a few weeks off for the holidays.