A SoCal Christmas poem: “Bring Your Santa Hat�

“Bring Your Santa Hat�

What’s red and white and keeps away the blues?
Santa hats, if you so choose.
Wearing one can warm your head
Or warm the hearts of others, truth be said.
To some it looks silly, to others slick,
When tapping into their inner St. Nick.
Not seen year round, there is a reason
They only bloom during Christmas season.

Vivianne Robinson, with a pigeon she calls Snowball perched on her hat, writes customers’ names on grains of rice from a table on the Venice Beach boardwalk.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Nohemi Ortiz, 56, photographs her pitbull, Snoopy, in front of a home with dog-themed Christmas decorations on Irving Boulevard.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

A woman called Funky T gets into the holiday spirit while riding her bike in Venice Beach.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Emanuel Orozco and wife Florida line up for a giveaway at a T-Mobile store on Santa Monica’s 3rd Street Promenade.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Taylor Baik, 19, of Pasadena hugs a Santa Claus statue on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

A Halloween decoration is updated for Christmas.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

A toy on display on Maple Street.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Pedestrians check out Aviator Nation, a clothing store on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Mannequins in front of a men’s suit store on Maple Street.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Flavia Cortez cleans an outlet store on Cesar Chavez Boulevard in Boyle Heights.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)