Santa Claus has taken up residence in the Metro East during the holiday season.
For more than 60 years, Santa’s House has been a Christmastime tradition in downtown Belleville. Heralded in by the annual day-after-Thanksgiving parade, the house sits on the northeast corner of the historic public square. Kids and grownups alike get the opportunity to take a photo with Santa and share their Christmas wish list.
“[Belleville] really does have the feel of a Christmas movie [around Christmastime],” said Cindy Hawkins, co-president of the Optimist Club of Belleville.
“We have Santa’s House on the square, we have the authentic Christmas German market and great restaurants and boutiques. We have a free horse-drawn trolly and live entertainment — all Christmas related.”
Since 1994, the Optimist Club of Belleville has owned and operated Santa’s House.
“We’ve had marriage proposals, gender reveals and people who come every year with their family,” said Hawkins.
She continued: “The most heart-wrenching [memory] was about a young man who lost his life and his family chose to donate his heart through a transplant event. … There is an organization called Catherine Cares that makes heartbeat bears. They made eight heartbeat bears for the young man’s family and asked if Santa could present them. ”
Santa’s House is open until Christmas Eve.
To hear heartfelt memories about Santa’s ho-ho-home, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
