Santa Rodney originally started in 2018 as Santa because his father was once Santa. Mrs. Claus, on the other hand, began her transformation because she saw the magic in what Santa was doing. (She had a touch of a Grinch heart before that!)
However, since they began their experience in 2019 together, they have begun to appreciate and reflect on the magic of each child and the child in the adult they meet. Each person brings the magic. Whether they are 2 or 82, people want to believe in magic. Seeing Santa brings out the child in all of us! Seeing Panhandle Santa and Mrs. Claus definitely brings out the magic as Panhandle Santa and Mrs. Claus brings a Victorian, old fashioned magical air to each interaction.
People believe - and whether it is running into Santa and Mrs. Claus in a restaurant or running into them on the boardwalk in Milton, - people want to have their pictures taken with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Why, as adults, would they still want that?
We believe people want that because people NEED to believe in magic! Seeing Santa brings the magic. Seeing adults going from "everyday life" expressions to excited, magic filled eyes just makes our heart smile!
This, Virginia, is why Santa still lives in the Gulf Coast of Florida!
(If you understood that reference, you are just as old as Santa!)
Photo courtesy of Kelsei Frazier Photography