Natchez &8212; Monday morning certainly felt cold enough for snow, and Santa Claus made sure some of the white stuff came down.

&8220;It&8217;s almost as cold here as it was at the North Pole,&8221; Santa told children and their parents, who were lined up at 10 a.m. at his traveling workshop parked outside Big Lots.

The official Macy&8217;s Santa brought the &8220;snow,&8221; along with elves, toys and plenty of Christmas spirit. The trip, organized by Toys for Tots and Visa, was designed to bring toys to children affected by Hurricane Katrina. Toys for Tots was started by the U.S. Marines Reserves.

&8220;Weather comes and weather goes, but holidays come every year,&8221; Santa told the children and their parents.

Many of the parents lined up Monday said their children simply wanted to see some snow &8212; and Santa, of course.

Maxine Montgomery of Natchez brought her grandchildren to meet the Macy&8217;s Santa Claus.

&8220;We wanted to see it snow,&8221; she said. &8220;And we wanted to see the Macy&8217;s Santa. I said, &8216;You&8217;re not going to see this unless you got to the Macy&8217;s parade.&8217;&8221;

Amber Smith brought her children Cameron, 4, and Jacob, 7. &8220;My little girl&8217;s never seen snow, and she wanted to see it,&8221; Smith said.

After being too shy to greet Santa, Cameron was happy to collect her toy and goodie bag. Inside the bag were a pair of bright pink Barbie gloves and a knit hat to match. She put the new gloves on quickly and clapped her hands in delight.

Juan Fontenot, production manager for the traveling Toys for Tots event, said the group is making two to three stops per day and will eventually have visited 61 cities.

&8220;This is a new approach,&8221; Fontenot said. &8220;This area&8217;s been hit so hard, they just wanted to bring a few smiles to the families.&8221;

So far, the trip has been accomplishing that goal, he said.

&8220;You have parents who talk about how the gifts from Santa might be the only gifts they get,&8221; Fontenot said. &8220;That&8217;s pretty sensitive.&8221;

Santa himself, who greeted parents, children and not just a few crying babies, told the children he had just one thing on his Christmas list.

&8220;If Santa could wish for one thing for Christmas, it&8217;s that everyone love each other,&8221; Santa said.