Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Mr. and Mrs. Claus have packed up their sleigh and closed Santa House for the holiday season, with the festive duo spreading joy to a total of 6,445 guests this Christmas season alone.
Ken and Arlis Holland — better known as Santa and Mrs. Claus — started the Santa House tradition in 2016 to provide a free place for the public to have a moment of magic with Santa.
“We’re not asking anything from anybody except to come and just have a moment of joy. That’s it,” Arlis said, in a previous interview with the HCN. “We just want to bring the magic. That’s what we’re all about.”
Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive in Granbury during the annual Nights of Lights Parade in November and hop off their sleigh to go to Santa’s House — eager to spread the Christmas joy to adults and children alike.
During a regular meeting of the Hood County Commissioners Court Jan. 9, Arlis commented that since she and her husband started the holiday tradition, they have seen a total of 32,569 visitors in Santa House.
Mr. and Mrs. Claus also had visitors this past holiday season who were not only from out of town but were also from out of state — and even some from out of the country.
“We had guests from Belgium, China, all over the place,” Arlis said.
"I'll tell you one thing, they take the time to give individual treatment to each one of the children that comes through there,” Hood County Judge Ron Massingill said during the meeting. “You talk about the patience of Job to sit there and talk to them. Really, you do a fabulous job and that makes a difference.”
Massingill added that Santa House is a “tremendous benefit” to the community and that Arlis and Ken do “such good community work.”
"It really does make Hood County, Granbury and all the surrounding areas, a much, much better place and a really good destination to come through for the holidays,” he said. “Y'all do a wonderful job.”
Arlis thanked the volunteers who helped run Santa House each year, adding that this would not be possible without all the individuals, as they are a “huge family.”
She also told a story about how on closing night, Dec. 23, it started pouring rain outside when the line filled with Santa House guests looped all the way in front of the courthouse.
"Some of them left but the rest of them we herded into Santa House as much as we could and those that we couldn't get in there stood in the rain,” Arlis said. “Umbrellas popped up out of nowhere, and what was so amazing to us is that when somebody walked through the door, they turned around and handed their umbrella out. Some of them never got their umbrellas back. That just shows how wonderful people are and just how great everybody felt about being out there, so that meant a lot to us.”
Massingill then made a motion to approve the use of the Historic Courthouse Gazebo for the Santa House starting on Nov. 23, 2024, until takedown on Jan. 4, 2025. The motion passed unanimously.
