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GREENSBORO — So, you get the kids all dressed up to visit Santa at the mall. You wait in line beside the velvet rope. You get ready to plop them on St. Nick’s lap.

And then: tears. They don’t want to sit on some weird bearded dude in a red suit.

The Shrine Club has another idea: drive-through Santa.

Just pull in to the club’s High Point Road headquarters and visit with Santa from the comfort of your own car.

It’s the brainchild of Dale Cheek, a Shriner looking for a way to do something special for children this year.

“Load them up in the minivan or the SUV and come on out,” Cheek said. “All they’ve got to do is roll their window down.”

The event, scheduled for tonight and Saturday night, is free and open to anyone, he said.

“We decided that we couldn’t go to everybody, but everybody could come to us,” Cheek said.

Of course, the kids can get out and do the traditional sit-on-Santa’s-lap-visit as well. There also might be other things going on, including races between Santa and Shriners in their little cars.

It’s the first time the club has done this, so Cheek isn’t sure what to expect.

The intent is to spread a little cheer at what is, for many, a difficult time.

“We realize the economy’s in the tank. We realize people are on short time,” Cheek said. “A lot of people who are not in the Christmas spirit, we’re going to help.”

And so he has a pitch for parents in the Triad:

“I just want to tell everybody to get off the sofa, lay your Wii down, and come and see Santa.”

Contact Jason Hardin at 373-7021 or at jason.hardin@news-record.com