This is the time of year when, at night, residents of Broussard always have one ear listening for the sound of Christmas music in their neighborhood – the cue that Golf Cart Santa is soon to make his way down their street. A family tradition that began when Mark and Christianna Gallagher’s children put lights and a bluetooth speaker on the family’s golf cart and rode around the neighborhood has grown into one of the area’s most anticipated Christmas events.

“We had no idea it would get to the point it is now,” says Christianna Gallagher, a.k.a. Mrs. Claus. Now in its eighth year, Golf Cart Santa is quite the production, with Santa and Mrs. Claus stopping in front of homes, handing out candy, taking pictures…elves dancing. The blaring of a great music playlist that includes a mix of traditional, pop and Cajun Christmas songs prompted dancing in the streets a couple of years ago. “People have come out in their robes to dance,” muses Christianna.

Five other families from the Gallagher’s neighborhood are part of an elf squad that last year handed out 8,000 candy canes and 2,000 prayer cards to the crowds. “Our goal this year is to hand out 10,000 candy canes and 3,000 prayer cards,” adds Christianna, who sees what they do as a ministry. 

It’s great family fun and amazingly orderly. “The city of Broussard has been overwhelmingly supportive,” notes Christianna. “We have meetings with them in advance. They see this as a beautiful service to the community that has brought people together at Christmas. Police have escorted us for several years now. On the nights that we go to Stine, the biggest common area, there are several police officers and the fire department.”

Preparation usually begins in August, and this year those plans involved the construction of a sleigh large enough to fit on a 16-foot trailer along with five reindeer. Onlookers can expect a full nativity scene larger than before, complete with a stable on its own trailer. And there will be a third bubble machine for even more Cajun snow, as Christianna calls it. In all, there will be three golf carts and trailers. And, once again, a Broussard fire truck will be part of the parade.

As always, the golf cart parade will begin December 3 at the lighting of the Broussard Christmas tree, where Santa and Mrs. Claus dance on the porch of City Hall. Over the course of nine evenings in December, they will travel to 23 neighborhoods in the Broussard area. There will also be six designated Santa stops in business parking lots, where Santa, Mrs. Claus and elves dance with the crowds. Christianna adds, “On one of the nights, we ride into Youngsville; we call it the “Ride for Lane,” to remember a child who died from cancer, whose favorite time of year was Christmas. We ride for him and those we miss.” Santa makes his last appearance on December 23. Check Facebook for weekly route maps, stops and times.

The Gallaghers say to ride on the carts and see the happy crowds is “humbling, magical and exciting.” The couple was particularly moved, a few years ago, by an article that appeared in a local online parenting magazine. “A woman talked about how what we do touched her so deeply that she cried, and how rare it was to make every single person feel special,” Christianna recalls.  “That’s what we try to do. That’s how we know that this is our ministry. Mark and I pray with the team before we go out every night and ask God to be in charge of the night and help people feel joy, peace and be free of pain for the evening. I feel He honors that every night.”