Imagine being a young child and having a party with many of your TV and storybook “friends.” With you at the party would be Oscar, the Cookie Monster, Beauty and the Beast and Olaf from “Frozen.”

Since the party is near Christmas, there would also be Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph, Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch and even the conductor from “The Polar Express.”

Of course, Santa and Mrs. Claus attend, too.

This party did happen. It was called “Cookies & Milk with Mr. and Mrs. Santa & Friends.” In fact, there were three such parties held Saturday and Sunday at the L.B. Morris Elementary School in Jim Thorpe.

The cookies and milk were a spinoff of a fundraising event that began in 2004 by Boy Scout Troop 555 of Jim Thorpe. Initially, the Scout troop participated in Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society.

Sue Urban’s Girl Scout Troop joined the Boy Scouts for a Breakfast with Santa fundraiser.

Ray Attewell, the organizer of Cookies & Milk with Mr. and Mrs. Santa and Friends, said the breakfast with Santa continued to grow.

In 2015, it became Cookies & Milk and was held at the L.B. Morris. It was so successful that three breakfasts were held and every one sold out.

“We had to turn people away,” said Attewell apologetically, stating that each such event can accommodate a maximum of 50 children. He said the maximum was slightly exceeded, and this year 160 children enjoyed the event in three seatings.

Cookies & Milk now benefits three food pantries. They are St. Joseph’s in Jim Thorpe, Christ Lutheran in Penn Forest Township and Shepherd House in Lehighton.

All the money raised goes to those three pantries. Attewell said this year the total raised was $4,350, with each pantry was given a check in the amount of $1,450.

There’s another featured attraction with the cookies and milk festivities.

Attewell said his wife, Rose, came up with the suggestion that parents stood out of sight and spoke to Santa, who had an earpiece to convey more personal messages to each child.

Besides the admission fee for the breakfast event, there was also a bake sale and basket raffle.

Attewell said all the cookies and toys given away are donated. The characters who attend are local residents.

New this year was the Polar Express conductor, played by Bill Solomon of Jim Thorpe, who for years was a real life conductor on the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway.

Solomon not only greeted the youngsters, he gave each a bell and a gold ticket from the Polar Express. He punched the tickets, spelling “Believe” when read from the back.

Shawn Bierman, who played a North Pole Security man, said besides the 150-plus children, there were well over 200 adults. “The adults love it as much or more as the kids,” he said.

Some Jim Thorpe Area High School students also participated.

Kaitlyn O’Neil, Maille Galvin and Tessa Bevilacqua, all members of the National Honor Society, were elves.

Sophia Samoleski, a Jim Thorpe High School junior, was “Beauty,” and Robert Renode, a Wilkes College freshman, was the Beast who transformed into the handsome prince.

Jen Palaia of Allentown attended Cookies & Milk with her husband, Frank, and their children, Anna, 9, and Amelia, who will turn 8 on Christmas Eve. She said they’ve been coming to it for about six years. Her father is a Philadelphia police officer who had worked with Attewell, a retired police officer.

“I love it,” Jen said of the event. “This is our family tradition that we do together. This is where the real Santa is, as my girls say.”

Colleen Hill of Jenkintown was with her husband, Dave, and their son, Liam, 8. They also know Attewell through the police department.

“It’s fantastic,” Colleen said.

The dedication throughout the event is obvious.

Olivia Rosenberger, 13, an eighth-grade Jim Thorpe student, baked all night on Friday, said her mother, Lisa.

“She stayed up until 5 a.m., got two hours of sleep, then got up to sell it,” Lisa said.

“Our whole family was up baking,” Lisa said, including her husband, Craig, and their 7-year-old daughter, Emma.

The stage for the event is neatly decorated with presents, a Christmas tree and stuffed animals. The presents are empty boxes that are decorated.

“It’s a big production, but we look forward to it every year,” Rose Attewell said.

She said donations were received from Mauch Chunk Trust Company, Jim Thorpe Neighborhood Bank and Thrivent Financial. “They pay for the cookies and other expenses,” she said.

She said each child is granted unlimited time with Santa. Cookies and milk are served, there is free face painting, a table has coloring pages for the youngsters and the characters interact with the children.

Chairs were set up around a small TV on which children watched the movie “The Polar Express.”