THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 18, 1994 TAG: 9412160227
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Eric Feber
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
Ever wonder what children ask for when they sit wide-eyed in Santa's lap?
The Homart Development Co., which owns Greenbrier Mall and 36 other regional malls across the country, has shed some light on the secrets kids share with Santa.
The main desire of boys comes as no surprise: It's Power Rangers, the figures and accessories based on the popular Fox network's daily cartoon series.
Nationally, boys want trucks and video games. On the local Greenbrier Mall level they want G.I. Joe action figures and accessories and remote toys, including an assortment of trucks and racing vehicles.
On the national level girls want - again no surprise - Barbie dolls and all of the thousands of accessories and clothes. That is followed by baby dolls and kitchen sets.
But after Barbie, the desire of Chesapeake girls is the same as their male counterparts - Power Rangers. The third most popular item among Chesapeake girls is baby make-up. Santa, on average
What does the average shopping mall Santa look like?
According to Homart, he is a middle-aged, educated family man with some girth and Santa experience.
The Santas are on average: 44.4 years old, have 3.2 children and a college or master's degree.
They weigh an average of 220 pounds and have an average waist of 39.5 inches. Sixty percent have attended some kind of Santa school. Welcome to Sykesville
When someone walks into Geneva Sykes' home on Potter Road in the Crestwood section of Chesapeake, he or she will be able to visit another town of sorts.
The town in question is a miniature municipality made up of porcelain buildings Sykes collects.
``I started three years ago,'' she said. ``And each year I buy more and more buildings and other items.''
Sykes started her collection with a village scene bought at a People's Drug Store. Over the last few years, she's been able to find other pieces and buildings at K mart, Montgomery Ward and Sears.
Now Sykes has a Lilliputian city featuring more than 50 buildings. It occupies a space the size of a large table in a corner of her dining room.
The village diorama, which took her more than a month to set up, is in two levels with tiny steps she made herself reaching the top area.
The city, which Sykes calls ``Sykesville,'' includes a church, school, homes of varying sizes and styles, a courthouse, a doctor's office, a library, a florist, farms, a fire station, stores and garages.
She said her town also includes lights that really work, mailboxes, fences and simulated grass. For the Christmas season, she adds simulated snow and Christmas trees that light up.
``It has become a Christmas tradition in the neighborhood,'' Sykes said. ``People come over and bring their children to look at my town. My neighbors tell me you should call people up and let everybody know about your collection.''
So far, Sykes has not gone in for urban planning.
``Every year the town just gets bigger and bigger,'' she said. ``Now I have to leave it up year-round. It's too much to take down.'' by CNB