hosting indoor services without masks. and tonight, they have another service planned. i-team reporter stephanie sierra is live near the church in san jose with the story tonight. stephanie? >> reporter: well, dan, as you mentioned, that candle light service is happening within the hour, and like other services we have seen offered here, this too will be indoors, a direct violation to both the county and state public health order. now, i'll step out to show you, we were asked to stay off their property, so it's hard to see from our vantage point, but people are starting to arrive on the other side of the building, and the staff we spoke to today made it very clear pastor mike mcclure is unavailable to talk to us. on calvary chapel san jose's facebook page, the congregation calls themselves a body of believers gathering together under the lordship of jesus christ. even adding, we are conservative in theology and evangelical in spirit. yet county health officials

argue the church isn't conservative when it comes to public health. >> the goal has always been that they come into compliance with the health orders and that they do so now because they're putting people's lives at risk. >> reporter: that goal of reaching compliance doesn't look likely tonight as the church as publicly advertised an indoor christmas eve candlelight service on their website and their facebook page. we've made seven attempts with emails and phone calls over the past five days to reach lead pastor mike mcclure for comment before showing up in person to knock on the door. we later spoke to two staffers who told abc7 pastor mcclure is out of town tonight for christmas eve and the rest of the week. according to the staffer, the indoor service will go on as scheduled despite pleas from county public health officials not to. >> i urge, urge, urge anyone who is considering gathering to stop, take a deep breath, think, and don't do it.

>> reporter: calvary chapel san jose is facing a slew of violations, some of which are posted on their door after repeatedly hosting indoor services since august. pastor mcclure has previously said he has no intention to shut down his services, and he is even willing to go to jail for it. >> we will continue to be active in doing so. there are real consequences. >> reporter: those consequences aren't cheap. williams says aside from legal battles, the church faces more than a million dollars in administrative fines. so far, none have been paid. >> we're not going anywhere. the fines will be collected. and they will pay. >> reporter: according to the county, the average attendance for these indoor services is around 700 people. now, we certainly haven't seen that many people come in tonight, but we are seeing people continue to come in within the hour. and all of the people we have seen so far have not been wearing masks. for the i-team in san jose tonight, stephanie sierra, abc7

news. >> that's why officials are so concerned. thank you very much. now to the north bay where some churches are live streaming services while other parishes are braving the elements outdoors. cornell bernard caught up with one church family celebrating the season together. ♪ o tidings of comfort and joy >> reporter: christmas eve mass like no other. >> i want to hear all the songs on christmas eve. >> reporter: after a year like no other. parishioners in novato celebrating christmas eve mass under a tent on the playground of the church's school. >> we all need a christmas in our lives, yes. >> grant, we pray, that we may share in the divinity of christ. >> reporter: father tony has been holding outdoor masses, but this one is different. >> my message to the parishioners for this christmas season will be one of hope. >> reporter: hope after a traumatic year.

>> people have come down with covid-19, but you know, having our faith to turn to has been very reassuring to a lot of people. >> reporter: patsy berg survived covid. her son is still recovering after a long battle. >> it was a very -- a big test of our faith, because no parent wants to lose her son. >> i believe if i did not have my faith, i don't think i would have survived. >> reporter: the church staff was following protocols, doing temperature checks, and spacing out chairs. face masks required for worship. >> we're very happy to be able to offer all this to, you know, to the community here on this christmas -- on this very unique christmas season. >> through my most grievous fault. >> reporter: with so many friends and family separated this season, there are christmas wishes for the future. >> i hope for the vaccination soon for everybody. hopefully next year will be a great year and we're ack to normal here in the church. >> reporter: meantime, christmas 2020 is here at a time when we need it most.

in novato, cornell bernard, abc7 news. and of course we've heard pleas from health officials for families not to do traditional gatherings for christmas, but as we've shown you, there appears to be some lack of compliance. the question is, why? researchers at uc and harvard say it has to do with deep-seated rituals. abc7 news reporter david louis looks at how changing behavior is so very difficult. >> reporter: by tradition, it's a time to gather, to join crowds shopping, to go to church. some people are either ignoring or dismissing pleas to forego these traditions for public safety. researchers tell us it has to do with religious and secular rituals. >> when people's rituals are altered, they respond with moral outrage. they feel angry. they judge the alteration to be wrong and we find this moral outrage persists even whether you have a good reason for altering the ritual. >> reporter: stein and other researchers spoke with 3,000 people. they believe the behavior we saw at thanksgiving and now with

christmas has to do with deep-seated values, gathering at thanksgiving is an expression of gratitude. christmas gift-giving is a symbol of love. changing behavior can be difficult, even when public safety is at stake. there was an outcry in 1939 when president franklin roosevelt moved thanksgiving up a week to create more time to shop for christmas. complaints arise when the dates for daylight savings time are changed. people want to punish those who alter rituals. >> we found that people wanted the person altered the ritual to do activities such as clean the floor or they assigned them to do undesirable activities such as scrub the toilet. >> reporter: the researchers think public officials need to change their messaging to focus on how distancing and staying at home for the holidays are in line with the value system many people embrace. >> christian value of being kind, generous, unselfish, celebrating that christian value, to be generous to others, to be kind to others. could be a way to get

individuals to follow the regulations. >> reporter: on a scale of 1 to 7, 7 being the highest, survey participants ranked their moral outrage to changes in christmas and new year's rituals at 5. david louie, abc7 news. let's take a live look outside right now where you can see from our network of traffic cameras, everywhere looking pretty heavy. that is except for the toll plaza, which you see just a few cars on the left-hand side. now, many people are following recommendations to stay home for christmas to fight that surge in coronavirus cases. aaa says travel will be down at least 25% this year. even so, about 81 million people nationwide will likely drive or fly somewhere for the holidays. about four in ten plan to cross state lines on their trip. well, last-minute shoppers are out hitting up bay area malls and stores, buying up gifts just in time to make it on to the tree for tomorrow morning. and they're stocking it up at groceries for the big meal as well. abc7 news reporter amy hollyfield checked out the

crowds. >> reporter: lorenzo's truck is doing double duty as santa's sleigh. he delivers and sets up flat screen tvs for best buy and he says procrastinators are keeping him busy. >> it's a mad rush. definitely a mad rush. >> reporter: are you still getting calls? >> totally. we'll get calls until the evening. >> reporter: he says business is good because of covid. >> i would say that the business is probably more. more people being at home. >> reporter: some say covid is to blame for their last-minute shopping. they just haven't had the time to get out. >> i'm still working, so trying to find time in between full schedule and her doing her distance learning. >> reporter: she says she did as much online shopping as she could to stay safe from covid, but covid has also complicated that process. >> a lot of amazon, but there's been a lot of delay because of, like, a lot of the warehouses and stuff like that are at lower capacity, so i just was like, i ordered what i could online, and coming out to get the rest. >> reporter: covid has also

disrupted routines. when the gift is usually a trip, that means some are replacing it with gifts this year. >> it's supposed to go on holiday trip but the shutdown kind of canceled that. that was my normal tradition, so last-minute shopping before work. kind of hate it. but hey, got to do what i got to do for the kids. >> reporter: she did not find what she was looking for at target and says waiting until the last minute is a bad idea. >> don't do it. wouldn't recommend it. >> reporter: the people we talked to don't foeel like the true procrastinator because they got out early this morning. they think the real procrastinators will be waiting until late christmas eve. if you didn't make it to the grocery store or don't want to cook this christmas, there are plenty of options for you to get a meal and support a local business, of course, at the same time. we have a takeout and delivery guide up on our website right now. just go to abc7news.com. looking ahead to christmas and it looks like we'll need our umbrellas if you happen to be out and about doing some

last-minute shopping. >> sounds like we will, sandy, in the case few days, in fact. >> yeah, dan and dion, we do have a storm headed our way right now. the wet weather is in southern california.% we're just getting clouds out of it but it's a light level one storm that we are tracking for your christmas. here it is. it's developing in the pacific. it's a level one on our storm impact scale from christmas through saturday morning, light to moderate rain, gusty southerly winds, and spotty showers expected early on saturday. so let's time it out for you. tomorrow morning, 30s, 40s, at 7:00 a.m. lot of cloud cover. a few showers developing by 10:00 a.m. to the northern end of our viewing area. by 3:00 p.m., it's starting to push across the north bay and along the coast as we head into the evening. it is across the entire bay area with some cooler weather on tap for the evening hours. i'll be back to let you know about another storm that is coming in just a few minutes. dan? >> okay, we need these storms, sandy. thank you. allies in action. the east bay nonprofit that helps others now facing its own difficult times.

we'll explain. a little soul. behind the scenes with pixar's newest animated movie. and tracking santa. no, no no. let's show 'em how it's done, becky g. ♪ it's the brand new chicken dance song uh ♪ ♪ get down heat it up like a sauna ♪ ♪ spin around one time if you wanna ♪ ♪ wings up stretch em out put it on 'em ♪ ♪ get up now ♪ get down uh ♪ cluck cluck when you hear the sound uh ♪

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because doing right by our members, that's what's right. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. ♪ usaa building character is something that comes easy to kent powers, in his new movie, pixar's "soul," he uses elements from his personal life to create the main character, joe

gardener. abc7 news morning anchor reggie aqui spoke to powers about his role as cowriter and codirector of this soul-searching and feel-good movie. >> i remember one time my dad took me to this jazz club, and that's the last place i wanted to be but then i see this guy, and he's playing these chords with force on it. >> so, let me just first start by asking you about this joe gardner. he is a black man, mid-40s, let's say, a middle schoolteacher with aspirations to be a jazz musician. and here's kemp powers, right? so he's in his mid-40s, he was a journalist with aspirations of being something else. so, are you joe? >> that's a tough question to answer. i think a lot of elements of my life have definitely been put into joe. so, joe definitely reflects a lot of elements of who i am. but sam, joe, no, because you

know, there are elements of a lot of different people's lives on the creative team that are reflected in joe. i think some of my elements are the most obvious, of course, being middle-aged black man from new york city. the artist's journey of joe is incredibly familiar to me. >> you know what that's going to say? joe gardner. you're never going to believe what just happened. i did it. i got the gig, yes. >> when you're originally pitching "soul," this is a movie that didn't even take place on earth, and joe gardner wasn't even a character in it. once they decided to incorporate earth and a human being into this storyline, they wanted him to be a black man who loved jazz, and they looked around and said, i think that we need someone else to work on this. that someone else was you. what was that conversation like? >> they brought me in and they showed me a very, very early cut of the film, and i mean, a cut of the film, meaning, two story boards with scratch actors and then me and pete just had a conversation. he just asked me what i thought,

and i gave him my honest opinion. i saw a great deal of potential in this story, the story of this joe gardner character, but i found myself asking lots of questions about it. like, who is this guy? when is this? when does this take place? who are his family members? who are his friends? i just had all these questions about joe and almost as i was asking the questions, i was also kind of filling in the blanks with some ideas. and you know, pete pulled out his note pad and was taking little notes, and i'm assuming he kind of liked where my ideas were going, because less than a week later was when he called me back and asked me to come on board the film as a writer. >> it's a pleasure. wow. this is amazing. >> but there's also, you know, these black spaces that joe inhabits. he goes to the barbershop, and he goes to the dry cleaner or the, you know, the tailor shop where his mom works. >> right. >> and those feel immediately like real places, and i know that you had a big part in that.

>> absolutely. i mean, that was one of the things i thought was really important. i think that while "soul" is not a black film, per se, i mean, the character of joe gardner could be any race, any gender. it's not necessary for joe to be a black man. that being said, if joe was going to be a black man, i think it was really important that he feel like authentic to his time and place. >> joe gardner, where have you been? >> i've been teaching middle school band. >> i don't know if this is what your intention was, but one of the themes that i got after watching your film, "soul," was to not be so hard on yourself. >> all of us have this tendency to see ourselves only as successes or failures. with nothing in between. and success is only equated to extreme wealth, fame, just a handful of things, and i think that's a really unhealthy, toxic way for us to be going through our lives.

and i know that, you know, for college-age kids, for teenagers, for younger kids, there's a lot of stress about what they're supposed to do with their lives, what's their place in the world. and i just want people -- i hope this film inspires this feeling of, like, everyone has worth. everyone belongs here. you know? everyone has a right to be here. and everyone has some value. you know, and value isn't just to the paradigm of all winners and losers is false. and it's -- i know that's an incredibly nuanced, heady thing to try to explore in a kids' film but i think we did a pretty decent job of distilling it down to those central ideas. and i hope it sticks for a lot of people. >> kemp, it stuck for me, and i don't see it as a kids film. i see it as a film for people and i see you as the soul of this movie, and i just want to thank you for that. >> thank you very much. i appreciate that. you know, yeah, i'm really -- i'm incredibly proud of it. >> get ready.

your life is about to start. >> i'm really looking forward to that one. "soul" debuts on disney plus december 25th. disney is the parent company of abc7. >> yeah, i'm really looking forward to that too. there's been so much publicity around it, so much excitement for this film. and it sounds like, dion, we'll have a good reason to watch the next few days because we're not going to be spending much time outside on my new roller skates that i'm supposed to get tomorrow. it's going to be raining, i guess. >> i would love to see that, sandy, wouldn't you? >> i think that would be great, dion. dan, we'd love to see you not just on roller skates but that bicycle, i believe, and what was the other thing? i can't remember. a scooter. all right, it's going to be a good day for a movie tomorrow for christmas. christmas eve is shaping up with just lovely weather outside. let me show you live doppler 7. we have a lot of cloud cover right now as the system is

moving into southern california and producing some rain down there. obviously, we need it. they're seeing it. we may see a couple of sprinkles but for the most part, it's just a lot of cloud cover that you'll see here from our area. 57 in san jose, 61 in half moon bay. look at this shot. so pretty from our east bay hills camera. santa rosa and novato are in the mid 50s. it is chilly in concord and livermore. upper 40s to low 50s. one last live picture from our golden gate bridge camera as the clouds are gathering. wet and breezy for christmas. lingering showers on saturday morning, and another storm gets here sunday night. that one is going to be colder. so, this first one for christmas, going into early saturday, it's a level 1 on our tomorrow. light to moderate rain, gusty, southerly winds are expected. the strongest winds will be over the hills, 15 to 20 miles per hour for the lower elevations. spotty showers will continue

into early saturday. as we time it out for you, 9:00 a.m., the marine line to the north but can't rule out a shower or two in the north bay. by 2:00 p.m., it's getting wet in the north bay. the coast begins to see the approach of the rain. 5:30 in the evening, you will notice that the front is coming through and we will see widespread rain but it's not going to be a heavy rainmaker, just enough to wet the ground and give us much-needed moisture. 10:00 tomorrow night, you're still looking at some scattered showers going into early saturday, 7:00, 8:00 in the morning. and then the showers will be winding down for your saturday afternoon. going into saturday evening. rainfall totals will look like this, anywhere from about a tenth to a half an inch. some of the wetter locations up in the north bay could pic up more than that but for the most part it's just enough to dampen the roadways and for you to have to bring out your umbrellas if you're going to be out and about. temperatures in the morning, mid 30s to the upper 40s. clouds around, some fog as well ahead of the storm that's coming in. tomorrow afternoon, make sure you have your rain gear, upper 50s to low 60s. we will have breezy conditions as well. and here's your accuweather 7

day forecast. delivering christmas rain with a level 1 storm for tomorrow. morning showers on saturday and then sunday night's storm is a colder one. that will bring us scattered showers on monday before we dry out. right now, looks like new year's eve, we may have another system coming through here, ringing in the new year, possibly on a wet note. but look at all those days in between. i think dan, you'll be able to get out on those roller skates. dion, if i'm not mistaken, dan is a really good ice skater. >> i've heard that as well. i need to see his skills. >> long ago. a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. >> oh, come on. >> we'll get it out of him. sandy, thanks. well, a tradition with a twist. bay area officers are giving back to the community today, and there are changes courtesy of covid. plus, lighting up the holidays. take a look at that. stay with us. we will be right

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christmas came early for some families in oakland. >> here you go. >> thank you. >> you're welcome. >> thank you. >> turn around. >> this was one of more than a hundred families who got gifts from a group of police officers. it's part of a food and toy giveaway that's been organized by the oakland police officers association for the past 30 years. an officer dressed as santa delivered the gifts, meeting families on the sidewalk this year. oakland police officers identified the families in need

during their regular patrols. very in touch with the community. san francisco police brought holiday joy to kids across the city with two separate toy drives. the police department gave us this video in a collaboration with walgreens, sfpd collected more than 2,000 toys. the department also bought more than 1,900 toys in a drive funded largely by donations from officers and staff. >> so nice to see. and prime rib was back on the menu at glide in san francisco. for the past 27 years, the house of prime rib has been donating its delicious prime rib meals for people in need. now, the traditional sitdown meal can't happen this year, of course, because of safety guidelines, so instead, the food was handed out in takeout boxes. glide served just about 1,400 meals today and delivered 200 more to people who are home bound. glide will hand out another 1,300 christmas day meals tomorrow. it is a lifeline, glide, every year. well, bringing life to the east bay, the community group doing

more than just providing handouts, how they are building a tribe. and it's a good year to look for some laughs, certainly. up next, serving up comedy and good deeds. than a holiday dinner table. gives you more options in a l pick the speed that's right for you, with options faster than gig. and get reliable internet with top-notch coverage. plus, help keep your data safe and private with security included. no antlers on the table. how come you get to eat first? get started with this great offer, or ask about our fastest speed, 2 gig up and down. switch today.

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>> announcer: this is abc7 news. well, if christmas isn't your thing or you could just use a little more humor in your life, tonight, kung pao kosher comedy kicks off. lisa joins me live. she is the founder of the show, which is now in its 28th year. lisa, thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you for having me. yes, 28 years. i thought it was going to be a one-time event in 1993. >> funny how that happens.

i also love your virtual background. very much. it's quite appropriate. >> thank you. it's my virtual chinese restaurant since we can't be there in person this year. >> we'll talk about that in just a second, but give me an idea of what it is like being a jewish woman on christmas, because i can imagine that played a role in how you came up with the idea for the show in the first place. >> yeah, usually i feel or i used to feel before putting together this event that i got off at the wrong exit. everyone's merry christmasing you when you go into the stores in july and you hear christmas music and nothing against it, it's just not my culture. so, i just felt like it was something i should do, put together an alternative event for jewish people to feel a sense of belonging and have fun and there's this tradition of jews going to chinese restaurants on christmas and then a movie, so this is an adaptation of that. it's jewish comedy and chinese restaurant on christmas rather than going to a movie. >> you know, i spoke with my

producers earlier in the day and something that came up is we are in this age of cultural awareness and it kind of feels like me -- to me, that the show is this educational way to teach others about other cultures but in kind of a funny way and i learned a lot just speaking on the phone with you earlier today about kosher and how that kind of plays into the chinese-american menu. >> yes, well, a lot of people who are jewish are kosher, but there's something called safe traif, which means unkosher like shrimp or lobster, so some people who are kosher might be kosher at home but then they go to a chinese restaurant and maybe there's just a little piece of pork in the wonton so it's safe. not everybody, but some people. >> and during the pandemic, you mentioned this. obviously, you know, restaurants are open, the show has gone virtual. tell me about the adjustments you've had to make because as a performer, i can also see that there are many differences, like there's no response from the

audience laughing necessarily. >> well, we'll have a certain amount of people who are unmuted. we can't have everybody because then it's chaos. so there's not the same experience of seeing everybody in person, but when you're on zoom, you can scroll and see other people in the audience, and what we have going on before the show for zoom is if somebody wants to get together with family, friends, around the country, around the world, they can reserve a breakout room and they get together and sit and talk and eat with people as if they're sitting at a table, like we have tables of ten at new asia restaurant where we typically do kung pao kosher comedy when there's not a pandemic so we're adapting and the show is going to have video and music and it's going to be multimedia and we also have performers from all over the place. i'm actually in florida visiting my mother, and judy gold, the headliner, is in new york, and alex edelman, the other comedian on the show, is in los angeles. and my tech team is in san francisco, los angeles, and sacramento, so we're all over

the place. >> it's quite an operation. we only have a couple seconds but this is important to me to ask you. every year, the part of the proceeds, they go toward a good cause. what are the organizations this year, and why did you choose them? >> okay. this year, partial proceeds will go to southern poverty law center's teaching tolerance project and the helen and joe farkas center for the study of the holocaust, and both of these organizations are teaching tolerance in schools and it was just important to me because i think there is a lot of hate speech now. i think trump has unleashed a lot of racism and a lot of isms and i think it's really important to teach kids at a younger level about tolerance and other cultures. >> so well said. lisa, thank you so much for joining us. make sure, even, to check it out, it kicks off tonight. thanks again. >> thanks for having me. >> great stuff. all right, we will get you more into the spirit with a look at christmases past as we

continue. plus, a big tip just in time for the holidays. the four at 4:00 i

everybody spends the night at the house. i love christmas, i always did. it's loud, it's family being together. a lot of food, music, people, hugs. that's a perfect christmas. ♪

time now for the 4 at 4:00 and twas the afternoon before christmas when all through the bay area, last-minute shoppers were stirring about. the pandemic has upended many holiday traditions but it hasn't stopped procrastinators. people were making runs to familiar stores like best buy and target to get those gifts that they might have put off.

and don't forget the food because grocery stores are also doing brisk business today as people load up for a holiday meal. i am certainly one to be in this category, but i almost think that people get a pass this year more than other years because we're all going through so much, there's only so much we can do. sandy, do you feel that way? have you gotten all of your gifts? >> i am done for the first time ever, dion. i actually got all of my gifts done and ready and i think this is the soonest i've ever done it, believe it or not. i had nothing better to do. can't go anywhere. you just get it done, right? did a lot of online shopping, though. >> that's a good point. >> how about you guys? >> i think a lot of people are surfing online because there are fewer activities to do. chris? >> she's making me feel bad. i have a couple gifts to send out but it will still be out there. it's the thought that counts, no matter when it gets there. i'll just blame the mail. it's actually my fault for having it late, though. >> yeah. it's the thought that counts and

i thought about sending you a gift. well, generosity is everywhere this holiday season. even tom selleck is giving. he left a $2,020 tip at a new york city restaurant as well as a personalized note. he said he was taking part in the 2020 tip challenge. that challenge appeared to have started back at the beginning of the year when a michigan restaurant server was left a $20,020 tip on a $23 tab, keep in mind. selleck left his tip last month but kept it a secret until now. another reason to like tom selleck, a television icon. such a generous thing to do and whether you can't tip maybe $2,000 but whatever you can to be kind to servers these days because they have struggled during the pandemic. >> it's been a rough time and so if you can give some extra money when you can for an industry that's really hurting, that would be great because we want to see them all back and

tliefing and every little tip counts for sure. >> you've always been so generous with people. >> oh, thank you. yeah, absolutely. i think, like chris said, and dan, like you said, anything you can do, no matter what amount, i mean, at this point, especially since it is so tough for so many people, so good idea to support and i know dion, you love to go out to eat but you're probably doing more takeout during this pandemic. >> and i think sometimes people forget that takeout is not something we tip a lot for, maybe just putting a little extra in if we can is really super appreciated. >> why not. >> yeah. okay, on to the next topic. kids across the country can breathe a sigh of relief. here's why. >> i'm here to make a very important announcement. santa claus has been deemed to be an essential worker. therefore, what does that mean, boys and girls? he will be allowed to fly in and around new jersey with his elves and reindeer with unlimited access christmas eve into the wee hours of christmas morning.

he will not have to quarantine. he will behave responsibly. we have that assurance. >> well, that's precious. well, santa can come to california as well, not just new jersey. that was new jersey governor phil murphy, who released that video today. we did hear from dr. anthony fauci also that santa got the vaccine, you know, from his own hands, so he's totally safe to go and do his job, as he should be, sandhya, he is that essential worker every year. >> absolutely. and santa's probably wearing a nice mask, maybe a little elf on his face or a reindeer. >> and that beard helps too. >> that's right. that's absolutely true. >> and chris, too, i mean, for santa, for a lot of kids, they probably just assume that, you know, he's some magical being and he has super powers anyway. >> exactly right. i'm very excited about that video. i thought it was very clever and a good way to get in the holiday spiritual and please come to california, santa. >> on his way. norad is tracking.

well, while we're talking on this subject, now to a bit of christmas past. our christmas past. we thought we'd share some of our favorite photos from our childhoods or our pasts. this is my family, okay, in the front is my youngest brother, peter. then david, then my sister, debra, who's watching right now, actually, from walnut creek, then me with the really nifty hat. i don't know what i was thinking. and my mom in the background. >> oh. >> on a sled. and i guess dad took the photo. anyway, fun. i don't remember how this trip down the hill actually ended up. but we were smiling when the shot was taken. so maybe we didn't crash. >> that's precious. okay, so, i asked my mom to scour the archives to find something. i could have sworn that i had one of those pictures of me crying and bawling my eyes out on santa's lap but she chose a much tamer one and she also included this. she had actually one of my favorite toys which is one of those bendy gumby toys, and she

actually still had it and presented it to me for christmas just a couple years ago. so it was a nice memento to have. i remember that rug and we would try and lift it up and hide things underneath. but certainly, a lot happier this photo than me crying and bawling on santa's lap. >> so cute. >> sandhya, tell us about this one. >> yeah. so, these are my kids, the one o in the center is alexandria, our oldest, who's 14 and on the two sides are nicholas and ashley, our twins, who are 11 now and i can just tell you, christmas is just priceless every single year, especially watching them open gifts and just enjoying the time. i can remember many years with my own siblings and my parents, opening gifts, but i have to be honest. when i was asked to go look for photos, i said, i have thousands of photos. i have no idea where my one or

two photos would be, so i decided to show my kids. >> well, what a beautiful family. >> i love those photos, dion, and dan, of you guys. thank you. >> these are precious. they look like they have big gifts coming. >> chris, this is perfect for you. >> yeah, that was me on the left. santa came in the late '80s and delivered me a joe montana jersey set. yeah. the onesie completes the look for sure. but you wonder where i got my love for sports at. it started really early. so, that was one of my favorite gifts and actually, that helmet resides in my bobble head collection. it looks like a real helmet from afar. the old school logo and everything. >> these are great. thanks to our producer, stacey, for thinking to ask us to do this. that's

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well, this holiday season, the need could not be greater for those impacted by covid. one local nonprofit has been standing with their east bay community during these difficult times but they're facing adversity themselves. thank you to these allies in action. this segment is sponsored by our partners at dignity health. >> you know, this no snitch culture, which i agree with, you don't want to be in other people's business, but in oakland, we've taken it too far, y'all. we need to have a space where we get into each other's business, where we ask each other, man, how you doing? we can be there for each other and we need to be nosey like that, because if not, we're going to turn around one day and no one's going to be there.

♪ >> tribe really got started through youth work, seeing that youth really needed a place to go but more, they needed people to invest in them. see the need, i see the struggle, and so, me and basically some youth and some other parents got together and we said we really need to do something in the community. and as we were working, you know, whether it's through -- working through a church, working through other nonprofits, working through oakland parks and rec, we found that what was needed was really to build something that people can feel a part of. home. that could exist apart from funding from the government, exist apart of family breakdowns, just be there continually through all of life's challenges from birth to death, and i don't want to see any more death in this city.

what we're trying to do is bring life. >> tribe done a lot, man. it's my heart, really. you know, i come from being here for more than 15 years and from starting off hoping, being in the streets, and having a way that they, like, was there to comfort me in times and it's all about being family. that's what tribe is about. and it's bringing more life to me as i give back to my community that i struggle from and grew up in. and you know, just loving what we do for the people here. >> i'll try my best to help people and give back so it's been actually teaching me how to be able to do that as well so it's a good cause. i've been grateful to be a part of it. >> i've been laid off by my restaurant. we've been there for 17 years. this pandemic really killed us, and i saw a new for a long time so they asked me for help and i love what i do right now. i'm helping people, which is

what i really love to do. >> you see one of the issues that we have nowadays is people talking about it but not being about it. and with social media out there, it's just -- and the media in general, it's just too muh where things are played to the camera and things are played to words rather than actually getting out there in the streets. right now, we have a county program that is funding us through the c.a.r.e.s. act, but that funding ends on 12/31/20. we're all calling it the cliff. after 12/31 on january 1st, people still need jobs and there will still be hunger out there so we are fearful of that cliff and we're working our darnedest with government officials, with community leaders, with power brokers, with flounoundations, philanthropists to say, it's important work. if you're out there wondering how can i get in there? you start small. volunteer at your local shelter, salvation army, donate your clothes, because one thing will lead to another and you'll find a space for you if you want to

make a difference, you want to make an impact. i would say that you already know how to. it's about stepping out the door, making a phone call, and actually doing it. >> fantastic now, find out how you can help and see more allies in action at abc7news.com. take action and wherever you stream abc7 news. turning to santa now as kids around the world await his arrival. for the past 65 years, the north american aerospace defense command, also known as norad, has been keeping tabs on santa's journey. you can see santa right now live over argentina. he is indeed wearing his mask just to be safe. earlier today, on "midday live," norad's commander explained how they track santa and his sleigh. >> norad operates a series of radars in alaska and canada. we also have satellites that actually look for infrared, and as you guys know, rudolph's nose

is pretty darn bright so that's the primary means we track him around until he comes over to our area of the world here in canada and the united states. then we'll use the radars to track him. >> oh, and we do have breaking news. we do know that santa has delivered 4.5 billion gifts so far. you too can track santa on the web at noradsanta.org or you can always download the norad santa app for android and apple phones. >> no wonder he can only do this once a year. it's exhausting. >> it's a lot of work. well, you can also enjoy our streaming yule log on abc7news.com. you have the option to watch it with a cozy crackling sound or maybe with music. you can watch it on our website or wherever you stream abc7 news. >> it is quite soothing. >> yeah. well, it is a christmas spectacular. up next, how windsor didn't let covid keep them from turning their community and a a winter wonderland this year. and new at 5:00, the long lines to shop on christmas eve. why one expert says this is

actually a good thing. plus, the big change in plans for a massive and much-publicized new year's eve party that got a lot of attention. and a follow-up to an impromptu duet, the new meeting that's not a surprise but just hi, i'm mike. jack hired me to tell you about his bagel breakfast sandwiches with bacon or sausage. jack i thought you hired me to be the spokesperson! why choose one when you can have two? my 2 for $5 bagel breakfast sandwiches.

why choose one when you can have two? great day on the lake! it is. lunch is cookin'! and i saved a bunch of money on my boat insurance with geico. fellas, can it get any better than this? whoa! my old hairstyle grew back. so did mine. [80's music] what? i was an 80's kid. it only gets better when you switch and save with geico.

bagel breakfast sandwiches with bacon or sausage. whoa, mark. jack hired me! i got a contract. you mean like this one? why choose one when you can have two? my 2 for $5 bagel breakfast sandwiches. coming up on abc 7 at 8:00, catch the greatest showman starring hugh jackman. at 10:00 it's disney's prep and

landing and disney's prep and landing naughty versus nice. then stay with us for abc 7 news at 11:00. a winter wonderland in windsor is bringing the community together this holiday season. the charlie brown christmas tree grove has more than 200 trees decorated by local classrooms, service groups, families and businesses. ♪ ♪ >> windsor at christmas time is a winter wonderland and trees have colored lights, the tops of the buildings have white led lights. >> we've got the music and the children laughing. it's a real festive event. these trees are bought by individuals and by classrooms and by groups and the money all goes to non-profits in windsor. people come out and individually decorate these trees. >> we have about 55 classrooms who have decorated trees. we have about 30 families who come out multigenerational and they decorate one tree. >> my christmas tree is not a

christmas tree. >> mine's a menorah. so we have 205 christmas trees and one menorah. >> this event means a great deal to windsor, and there was no way even with covid that we couldn't at least put something on. >> it gives everyone a reason to get together and really just be happy because i feel that there's not a lot of that in the world right you in. so coming out and getting to see the christmas trees and seeing everything in the community means a lot. >> it's just really a big celebration. ♪ ♪ schultz is from sonoma county and we wanted the trees to be small and special and not big, fancy, elaborate things and we wanted them to be really country, down home decorated by your average people and that's what charlie is full about. trees full of love. >> unfortunately, the lights were stored at a facility that got burned down during the fire, and we thought we were aren't going to have any of these beautiful lights behind us and within a few days we were able

to raise all of the money to replace them and i'm talking about thousands and thousands of dollars to make sure christmas was as bright as it could be. >> people want traditions to continue and we worked hard to figure out how we could pull this off and stay safe at the same time. >> it's incredible how people walk along and see every single sign to see who it's decorated by and sponsored by. >> it's bringing joy to the residents and the families and the kids of windsor. it's been such a challenging year for everybody and to be able to bring joy, light and happiness in a safe way to our residences is so great, so this will be a long time in the future that i look forward to this being the heart of the holiday season. >> i can't imagine it ever ending, 12 years strong. i can see it going on forever and ever and it just being a special thing. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> in so many ways, that is the spirit of the holiday season. seeing all of those community

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on more surfaces than lysol disinfectant spray. lysol. what it takes to protect. next at 5:00, the long lines to shop on christmas eve. why one expert says this is a good thing. plus, changing course. why a massive new year's eve party at the casino been cancelled. >> also ahead for the holiday season despite a demand to stay put. the deep seeded reasons so many people are defying the orders. >> plus the long lines of grateful customers. an east bay restaurant is giving back to the community. >> also here, a follow-up to an impromptu duet. the new meeting that's not a surprise, but just as powerful. >> building a better bay area for a safe and secure future, this is abc 7 news. >> and we begin with the christmas eve that we've never seen before. yes, people are out shopping, but the scene is quite different from years past. people waiting in line outside,