Photo by News Bulletin staff.

Santa and Mrs. Claus, Ted and Marianne Wilkinson of Yorkville, paid an annual visit to children at Hesed House homeless shelter in Aurora earlier this month (above). After 24 years playing the jolly old elf and his spouse, the Wilkinsons will retire to Jackson, Tenn. in January.

Ted is a retired Kendall County real estate broker; Marianne is administrative assistant to the director of Aurora University’s School of Social Work. The Wilkinsons, both 69, visit charities free and also hire out for home and commercial visits, including four home visits scheduled for Dec. 24. 

Immediately above, 463 surplus books were recycled to form a holiday tree at Aurora University’s Phillips Library. Below, hundreds packed Our Savior Lutheran Church in Aurora on a recent Sunday for the Fox Valley Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus’ second annual “Do-It-Yourself Messiah.”  All photos by News Bulletin staff.