NORTH POLE — Santa’s Seniors turned 25 this year, and members are throwing a big party Saturday afternoon. Everyone is invited.

“We’re going all out,” said Jeannette Gaul, past president of the organization.

The center opens at 2 p.m. and hors d’ouvres will be served at 4 p.m. A PowerPoint presentation about Santa’s Seniors’ history will be given and birthday cake served.

Santa’s Seniors incorporated in January 1985 after friends Grace Ford and Kaye Baker decided senior citizens in North Pole needed a place to meet and socialize.

The city of North Pole offered use of a building, which has served as the senior center and a de facto community center.

Santa’s Seniors boasts about 270 members, drawing people from Fairbanks as well as North Pole.

“I think people like the informality here,” Santa’s Seniors president Hazel Rosendahl said. “It’s personal.”

Members who move away from the community maintain their membership so they can continue to receive the organization’s monthly newsletter.

The folksy newsletter lists members’ birthdays, recipes, announcements and jokes.

The senior center also offers breakfast for its members Monday through Friday and monthly lunches. The center offers exercise classes, art classes, a craft shop, potluck dinners, a weekly farmer’s market and a medical equipment lending closet.

Santa’s Seniors pays its bills by holding yard sales, bake sales and pancake breakfasts, organizers said.

“We’ve got excellent cooks here,” Rosendahl said.

Membership fees are $12 per year for single people and $20 annually for couples.

Contact staff writer Amanda Bohman at 459-7544.