RP Diamond Printing and Embroidery brings Santa Land back to Loveland Saturday, December 7
By Chuck Gibson
Santa and Mrs. Claus will visit with kids at Santa Land in Loveland Saturday, December 7, around 4 p.m. He and Mrs. Claus are back for all the boys and girls to see at Santa’s House located in the parking lot of Loveland Plaza. After they arrive in the big red Loveland-Symmes Fire Truck, Santa and Mrs. Claus will greet everyone before stepping into the house to hear all the children’s Christmas wishes.
This is the return of a Christmas tradition that left a lasting memory on lifelong Loveland resident and business owner David Terry. Somehow Santa’s old house disappeared all those years ago. Then he saw a photo of Santa’s original house on Facebook.
“I got this flashback, warm-n-fuzzy feeling,” said Terry. “It brought back the memories. I told my wife I think we can make this happen again.”
That was about five years ago. Terry searched, but couldn’t find the original Santa’s house. He talked to people around Loveland who thought it was a good idea, but faced some obstacles getting started. In 2015, he, his wife Tammy, and employees of RP Diamond Printing & Embroidery had Santa and Mrs. Claus inside the store. He already had a connection providing Loveland InterFaith Effort (LIFE) with spirit wear for kids. Santa Land in the store during 2015 collected 100-150 new unwrapped toys for LIFE to deliver to children in need.
“This is about passion for something from my childhood that stuck with me a long time,” Terry said. “We just needed to recreate it somehow.”
Fast forward to a 2018 conversation Terry had with Art Jarvis about Santa’s House. The two shared a passion for helping kids while coaching youth sports together over the years. Jarvis said ‘Let’s do this, let’s move this back outside and build Santa’s House.’ Terry called upon others to help remember and design Santa’s House like the original. They connected with John Sheanshang owner of Shed-I-Master Shed to recreate Santa’s House.
“This is Santa’s House designed from memory,” said Terry. “I feel like we pretty much nailed it.”
“Sheanshang gets credit. He went above and beyond what we asked,” said Jarvis. “He knocked it out of the park.”
Santa and his house came back to the same parking lot location in Loveland Plaza where they created those lifelong memories for so many kids. The return of Santa Land in 2018 marked the beginning of a whole new generation of Loveland youth making lifelong Christmas memories with Santa.
“Seeing the kids with smiles is the biggest chill,” Terry said. “Being pulled aside by folks closer to my own age, saying thanks for bringing back a memory now I get to share with my kids and grandkids. That was icing on the cake.”
And Art Jarvis saying “it is now officially a thing” was the cherry on top for David Terry. The 100 or so kids that visited Santa’s House last year is proof enough for Terry it really has become a thing in Loveland. A lot of people are already asking if Santa Land will be back.
“I’m a huge fan of this kind of nostalgia,” Jarvis said. “I’m a fan of Christmas. I have great memories from Christmas downtown as a kid. It’s all about the passion David Terry has for this.”
Santa Land is back and free for all. From 4-8 p.m. Saturday, December 7, Santa and Mrs. Claus will be in Santa’s House for all the boys and girls to visit. They’re sure to get a candy cane. While they wait, there is plenty of fun for everyone with “super-duper old train” rides, face-painting, a caricature artist, live acoustic guitar music, ornament building and an ornament bag, plinko games and an elf with balloons for the kids. Biggby Coffee and Loveland LaRosa’s will be on hand with food and hot drinks available.
“The centerpiece is Santa’s House, everything else helps entertain the kids while they wait to see Santa,” said Terry, who acknowledged a lot of people coming together, including Art Jarvis, RP Diamond employees and others, to make this happen. “There’s a lot of sentimental value. This is for the kids.”
Santa Land
When: Saturday, December 7, 2019 Time: 4 – 8 p.m. (Santa & Mrs. Claus will arrive on LSFD Fire Truck) Where: Santa’s House, Loveland Plaza: 368 Loveland-Madeira Rd. Entertainment: Santa and Mrs. Claus, Face-painting, caricature artist, Christmas ornament making, live acoustic guitar music, balloons and plinko games Free to the public:
Photo captions: Photos from Santa Land 2018 and David Terry with new Santa’s House (Photo Credits: Chuck Gibson and Courtesy of David Terry)
