If you pass by Coletti-Magni Park in Nonantum during December, you’ll see an 18-foot-tall Santa Claus statue waving toward the street. The neighborhood’s Santa tradition dates back to the 1950s, and this is Nonantum’s third Santa, replacing earlier ones that served the community over the past 70 years.

Each Christmas, the Nonantum Children’s Christmas Party Association decorates the park with lights and holiday displays. This year’s Christmas lighting ceremony was on Sunday. Dan Fontaine, an Elvis Presley tribute artist, will perform a Vegas Christmas show Dec. 19, and the Nonantum Christmas Parade will roll through the village Dec. 21.

In addition to the Christmas celebrations it hosts, the association provides help to local charities such as the John M. Barry Boys & Girls Club and Newton Athletes Unlimited, and contributes floats for the Memorial Day parade.

“We’re always there at anybody’s beck and call,” said association chairman Anthony Pellegrini Jr. “So if anybody needs something, they can come to us. That’s what my father used to do, so our goal is to keep it going so if someone in need is out there we can help them out.”

The Nonantum Children’s Christmas Party Association was founded in 1954 by his father, Anthony “Fat” Pellegrini Sr., and a group of friends. After Pellegrini Sr. died in 2004, his children took over. Today, Anthony Jr. (people call him “Fatty” or “Uncle Fatty”), his sister Linda Anderson and the third generation carry on the family tradition.

Every December, the association gives out gift cards and food baskets to families in need. “My father had a list, and I’m still going by the list,” Pellegrini said. “So we give out a couple hundred gift baskets, and we have a list from not just Nonantum, but from Watertown, Newton Corner, the (Newton) Falls, throughout the area.”

This big Santa statue is part of Nonantum’s Christmas display each year. Shown behind it is the Nonantum Children’s Christmas Party Association truck with volunteers arriving to set up lights. Photo by Bryan McGonigle

Preparations for the season begin right after Halloween, from purchasing supplies to organizing activities. Arrianna Proia, 24, a Nonantum native who was recently elected to the School Committee, has been involved with this association her whole life, helping “Uncle Fatty” decorate the park.

“It’s a good way for us to connect with our neighbors and also honor the traditions that have been going on for over 50 years,” she said. “This is a tradition we love to keep on doing.”

Seeing hundreds of kids gathered at the park and watching the lights turn on really brings the community together, Proia said.

“My grandparents grew up in this neighborhood, and being able to come back now as an adult and help out with people who have done this their whole lives, and get to know everyone on a different level is really special as well,” said Rebecca Torcasio, friend of the Pellegrini family.

Although it’s called Nonantum Children’s Christmas Party Association, the party tradition ended in 1992, after Pellegrini Sr. got lung cancer. Pellegrini said his father was “the cog in the wheel”—no one was able to pull off a party like him.

Pellegrini, 68, remembers when a family’s house burned down in Roxbury, and his father gathered people together and supplied the household with everything they needed. When a young person died, the association would step in to pay for the funeral. He recalls his father always brought a basket and a radio to visit people in local hospitals.

“My father’s benevolence was unsurpassed by anybody. He solicited money and he gave it out,” Pellegrini said. “He kept the neighborhood together.”

These collective Christmas celebrations in Nonantum might date back to 1899, Pellegrini said. One day he found a newspaper from Christmas 1965, marking the event as the 66th annual Christmas celebration.

Frank Battista greets a group of kids at the fence at Coletti-Magni Park during Nonantum’s Christmas Tree–Lighting on Dec. 7, 2025. Photo by Bryan McGonigle

Nonantum is Newton’s most densely populated village, and it’s known as the Italian village with Italian immigrants and blue-collar roots. Locals call their neighborhood “The Lake,” even though the actual lake—Silver Lake—was landfilled a long time ago.

The older generation can talk in “Lake Lingo,” which is a slang that originated from Romani language. “Friends” star and Nonantum native Matt LeBlanc once showed his Lake Lingo on a talk show.

Pellegrini said “a passing of the torch is coming”—he hopes his nephews can keep the traditions going.

One of his nephews, Daniel Anderson, said the association depends on support from families, local businesses, and the police and fire departments.

“Without the donations and the dedication from the community, this would not happen,” Anderson said. 

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This story is part of a partnership between the Newton Beacon and the Boston University Department of Journalism.