The Best of Patch: December

At year's end it's nice to take a look back at where you came, which offers a good look at where you're going. At Patch, December brought many stories of giving back, a new footpath for Fox Point residents and some heartfelt letters to Santa Claus. Take a look at what made December a month to remember at Patch.

• Read every installment of the Fox Point-Bayside Year in Review series

"There's nothing like being Santa Claus in full Santa Claus garb, driving down the highway and having cars pulling up next to you just looking," Mark Shapiro said.

For the third year in a row, Mark, executive director of the , will dress up as Santa and deliver hundreds of toys the Shapiro family have collected throughout the year to children at the Cathedral Center, an Milwaukee emergency shelter for women and families.

Tom Clark said when his kids were little, he wouldn't let them walk down Green Tree Road because traffic would go by so quickly.

Janice Pfaffl said in the summer, she and her children would have to walk through the debris in the ditch because speeding cars making walking along the shoulder unsafe.

However, these residents will soon have safer passage along Green Tree Road with a new footpath.

Second-Graders Write Letters to Santa

The students in Debi Logman's second grade class at St. Eugene School took a few moments to write down their best requests for Santa. Among "spy stuff" and whistles, penguin pillows and guitars, these kids thought about others as well. Take a look at their hand-written letters complete with colorful drawings.

Fox Point Man Steps Behind The Camera For Familes In Need

Under warm studio lights, people who have fallen during hard times sit before photographers and are shown a side of themselves they may not always see.

They have just gone through a brief hair and makeup session and are now about to have their portrait taken for the holiday season. It’s all thanks to Help Portrait Milwaukee, a non-profit group run by 34-year-old Matt Heltsley of Fox Point.