Santa Has a Backup Plan

While the official story is that Santa only lives at the geographic North Pole, there is compelling evidence to the contrary.

A long time ago, in a little town in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Santa had a home about an hour’s drive north of SSCS. Known to all as Santa’s Village, for a few months each year it drew families from the San Francisco Bay Area, San Jose, and the Salinas Valley, giving them an opportunity to get a look at the Big Man in his natural habitat.

A kind of lo-fi amusement park with a handful of rides, the park also incorporated a petting zoo, gingerbread men, simple rides, and whole staff of elves. Of most interest to our readers, it featured a gas station with reindeer on its roof.

Unfortunately, that Santa’s Village is long gone, eventually paved over by a software company that, itself, no longer exists. Don’t feel bad for Santa, though. As you might expect from a man of his considerable resources, he’s retained a few other options, each with their own appeal. Let’s look at a few.

The North Pole, Allenpark, Colorado. In the 1940’s an eight-year old girl told Arto Monaco, a former Disney artist, what she thought Santa’s real village at the North Pole looked like. Inspired by the child’s description, but also based on a similar attraction in New York, the artist finished his interpretation of her vision into a “magical land” nestled at the foot of Pike’s Peak. It opened on June 16, 1956—elevation 7,500 feet—Santa’s bungalow in the Rocky Mountains. For visitors, there’s scores of rides and attractions.
You might see Santa at this nearby c-store: Ferncliff Food and Fuel.

Santa’s Village, Jefferson, New Hampshire. Nestled in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, this is Santa’s favorite spot in New England. Not only does he have a home here, he founded an institution of higher learning for staff members: Elf University! There’s also over 20 rides, including a waterpark which, yeah, doesn’t get much use during the winter time, but then Santa hangs out here during the summer, too! Here’s a look at his Jefferson living room at Christmas:

You might see Santa at this nearby c-store: Foster’s Crossroads.

Santa’s Village, Dollywood, Tennessee: This is a place you can definitely get your Smoky Mountain Christmas on, as you would expect from Dolly Parton’s own theme park. She won’t overshadow Santa during the holiday season, though, as Dollywood transforms into a Santa-centric wonderland. Christmas musical shows featuring Old Saint Nick are a highlight. You can walk through a park surrounded by millions of Christmas lights, too.
You might see Santa at this nearby c-store: Satterfield’s Old Fashioned C-store and Grocery.

Santa Claus Village, Rovaniemi, Artic Circle, Lapland, Finland. This is about as close to home as it gets for Santa, because it isn’t a park, it’s a complete town. And unlike Leavenworth, Washington from two posts ago, Rovaniemi doesn’t go through just a seasonal transformation, it stays this way all year long. That means visitors get to embed themselves in the most complete Santa experience possible. The Big Man even has an office!

Book a cabin in Rovaniemi, or a hotel room, or one of 82 igloos. Enjoy Finnish culture and merchandise. Explore nearby Santa Park, an underground amusement park.
You might see Santa at this nearby c-store: Shell HelmiSimpukka Napapiiri.

Now we’re not really sure if Santa is a technology enthusiast, or if he has all those elves calculating inventory and managing deliveries for him manually—a labor resource not available to most c-stores. That’s okay; today’s back office software, like our Computerized Daily Book, can do the work of dozens of elves in a fraction of the time. In addition, our technology will remove the potential for elvish (or human) error. Sound worth looking into? Give us a call at (800) 972-7727 and we can show you what it can do, regardless of the season.