The people who started the Ship Bottom Christmas parade were going out on a limb 40 years ago. Out on a limb on a barrier island in winter. But in the month before Christmas, Santa Claus found the town just fine. And after all, there’s a toy store on the main street.

This year’s grand marshal, Susan Hay of The Haymarket Hobbiesand Toys, was there before it all started, when a fellow businessperson told her he had a dream.