Winds foil annual Santa drop

Santa Claus is always trying to find creative ways to visit children. Whether it's down the chimney or in a helicopter, Santa makes his visits known. Last year and in years past, he made a grand entrance at the Anaheim Town Square shopping center on Lincoln Avenue and State College Boulevard. He dove from a plane 10,000 feet in the air, landing in one of the center's parking spaces. On Friday, he made his Marissa Espinosa and Brittany Duigou stop at the Tina's Custom Crafts table to color canvas bags during the annual Anaheim Town Square "Jingle Bell Jump" on "Just because you're cleaning tables right now, doesn't mean you're always going to do this." LUIS A SANDOVA L 5 1 1 N. Brookhurst , Suit e 300 , Anaheim , CA 9280 1 much, if not all, of their paycheck to their families' needs or to pay their own expenses. "Parents can't afford to rent them a tux for prom," she said. "They want some extra money for their sports. Everything's so expensive now." Sandoval said she likes to encourage the students to work hard and aim high. "Just because you're cleaning tables right now, doesn't mean you're always going to do this," Sandoval said. Sandoval was born in Zacatecas, Mexico, and raised in Anaheim. She became a citizen about seven years ago with friend and colleague Blanca Avila, 34. Avila, now an assistant manager at the McDonald's on Harbor, began working with Sandoval 15 years ago. "She's a really good manager," Avila says of Sandoval. "We can always count on her when we need anything." Sandoval said she knows working in a fast-paced fast-food restaurant can be stressful with sometimes 2,000 customers coming through the doors each day. So, she tries to make the job fun for her employees. With more than 100 employees, she tries to talk to and listen to all of them. Sometimes they raffle off prizes and ever year they throw a Christmas Party in the restaurant, when it's closed on Christmas Day. And the employees say they appreciate it. "I've been here for three years and the only reason I stayed is because of her," says 19-year-old Desiree Garcia. Sandoval hired Daniel Hernandez, then a 16-year-old student at Anaheim High School, from YES. He has since moved his way up and recently was named manager of a Mission Viejo McDonald's. "All my managerial skills I have now, I learned from her," said Hernandez, now 23.