Everyone had always asked, “Who is your model for the Santas?”  Well, all I could say before was that he was the Santa Claus of my childhood and then of my dreams as an adult.  That was until the fateful day Santa Joseph Moore came around the corner.

I have met and spoken with dozens of Santas over the years.  They are such warm and lovely people, and of course how could you not love their jolly demeanor?  But each one looked a little different than the Santa I was portraying in my paintings.  Then while doing the Arts and Crafts Show in Gatlinburg one July, this lovely lady named Mary came up and asked me that very question.  I gave her my (by now standard) answer and she said, “Really?  Because your Santa looks just like my husband!” 

Well, as fate would have it, we saw her again when we returned in October.  I had remembered her by her kindness.  She came up, gave me a hug and said, “I want you to meet my husband.”  Just then, rounding the corner was the most beautiful and perfect Santa Claus I had ever seen.  He WAS the Santa Claus of my childhood, and my artistic dreams!

But this amazing couple is more than just Santa and Mrs. Claus, they also are the coordinators of the largest gathering of Christmas folk in the world!  Each March they put on the Celebrate Santa Festival around St. Patrick’s Day.  There hundreds and hundreds of Santas, Mrs. Clauses, elves, reindeer owners, and more gather to learn how to be better Santas and to celebrate the lifestyle they love.  This “Santa Homecoming” includes a parade, fashion show, Santa ‘tube’ races, and more that is open to the public and special private classes, which are not.  You may find more information about this wonderful event at HollyandShamrock.com.

Santa Joseph is also a children’s author, the Santa Claus at Tanger Five Oaks in Sevierville, Tennessee, and on the Board of Advisors for Santa America, an International charity that works with traumatized children, hospice, and bereavement for families.  You can find him around the Smoky Mountains much of the year, or on my prints and paintings anytime!

My thanks go to Santa Joseph and Mary for their love and dedication to all that makes Christmas the most wonderful time of the year.