AUBURN — The opportunity to sit down one on one with Santa Claus doesn’t come along often, so a boy has to make the best of it.

At Festival Plaza in Auburn on Wednesday, 7-year-old John Kelley went right for the wish list when he sat down on the big man’s lap.

“I told him I wanted a PlayStation 2, a DVR and a flat-screen TV,” the Lewiston boy said. And with that business out of the way, it was back to the festivities.

It started at Dufresne Plaza in Lewiston where the giant Christmas tree was lit up for the first time this season. It went off without a hitch. The mayors of Lewiston and Auburn counted down from 10, and by the time they uttered the final number, the tree lit up and the holiday season had officially commenced.

From there, the parade rolled down Main Street and into Auburn, thousands of parents with children and a variety of familiar (and a few unfamiliar) characters cavorting among them.

There was a Ginger Bread dancing all over the place. Several snowmen worked the crowd as did Sparky, the Lewiston Fire Department’s 6-foot-tall dog mascot. There were a few wandering moose and several reindeer. A giant Oakhurst acorn on two legs joined the celebration, a little unsteadily.

And of course, there was Santa, his sleigh being hauled across Longley Bridge by a Chevrolet four-by-four.

It was a mild night, in the mid-40s. Santa’s nose was not even red with cold.

“No, no. It’s too warm. My glasses are fogging up,” Santa said in his jovial way. “We need it to be 10 degrees cooler.”

And no snow, for which the Auburn mayor quickly took credit.

“I put in a call to hold off the snow until we’re done here,” Mayor John Jenkins said.

Hundreds of kids sang Christmas carols as they moved from Lewiston into Auburn. One of those kids was Alex Smith, a 10-year-old who rattled off the number of songs he sang during Santa’s march across the bridge: “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” “Jingle Bells,” “Here Comes Santa Claus” and other classics.

Was he nervous about singing in front of all those people?

“He’s a kid and he’s a boy,” said his mother, Janet. “Of course he’s not nervous.”

There was a marching band from Edward Little High School and a team from the Lewiston-Area Youth Cheering League. How do you keep track of roughly a dozen members of your cheering squad? Give them all bright red antlers to wear atop their heads.

“We got these so we could tell we’re part of the same group,” said cheering coach Lakota Physic. She, too, was wearing antlers.

At Festival Plaza in Auburn, there was an odd sight that few expected. The ground beneath the city Christmas tree was covered with great chunks of pure white snow. It hadn’t fallen from the sky. Its origin was said to be a holiday secret.

Santa took his seat in the place of honor and prepared to greet the children one by one. But first, another countdown to light the tree. When it was time, Santa flicked the switch himself and the lights came on, officially assuring the gathering that Christmas had come to Auburn, too.

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John Kelley, 7, center, of Lewiston tries to get a better look at Santa and Mrs. Claus after their arrival in Festival Plaza in Auburn on Wednesday. Also waiting to see the famous couple were Harley Lombard, 12, right, of Auburn, and Joey Zembas, 11, of Lewiston, behind Kelley, and Mrs. P, a Boston terrier.

Clutching his teddy bear, Gage Alexander, 4, of Auburn cannot contain his excitement as he visits Santa Claus with his sister, Arania, 2, at Festival Plaza in Auburn on Wednesday. The Parade of Lights began in Lewiston with the tree-lighting in Dufresne Plaza.

Nora Knowlton, 3, of Lewiston plays in the “snow” hauled in for the Third Annual Twin Cities Holiday Celebration on Wednesday at Festival Plaza in Auburn.