SMOKEY POINT — The Stillaguamish Senior Center’s monthly pancake breakfast fundraiser benefitted from a special guest in the form of Santa Claus this December, who appeared whenever Recency Care Center Administrator Mike Shaw seemed to be absent.

The breakfast on Saturday, Dec. 8, drew more than 80 attendees, whose donations will go toward promoting and enhancing the affordability of Stillaguamish Senior Center exercise programs such as Yoga, Tai Chi, Zumba, Zumba Gold Fun, Fit and Function, and Stretch and Breathe.

“We’re trying to make these programs more affordable for more people,” said Adele Erbeck, outreach coordinator for the Stillaguamish Senior Center. “We’re subsidizing it to a certain extent, so that more folks can take advantage of programs designed to help them live healthier lives.”

Erbeck estimated that December’s pancake breakfast doubled the event’s usual attendance, which she attributed to press coverage and an appearance by St. Nick, who posed for photos when Shaw wasn’t fulfilling is regular chef duties by whipping up a breakfast of sausage, Southwest scrambled eggs, fluffy pancakes, juice and coffee.

“We’ve been doing this with the Stillaguamish Senior Center for a few months now,” said Shaw, whose cooking skills and accompanying crew of volunteers from Regency Care Center received praise from Erbeck. “The first time we did it, we really liked it and asked, ‘What if we could do this again?’ We don’t make a nickel off this. It’s all community service to benefit their programs, and we love to see the community come together on these mornings.”

With proceeds netting hundreds of dollars a month for the Stillaguamish Senior Center, the event has proven popular enough that senior centers in Everett have invited Shaw and his crew to cook for them in January of 2013.

The Stillaguamish Senior Center is located at 18308 Smokey Point Blvd. in Arlington, and its pancake breakfast fundraisers take place on the mornings of the second Saturday of each month.