The Making Of A Santa

The Making of A Santa

How many of us want to grow up and be Santa or Mrs. Claus? I can honestly say I don’t know anyone that as a child said I want to be Santa or Mrs. Claus. I don’t think that Al and Barb Davis had those dreams as child; well not that they could remember. I had the joy of speaking to Barb Prentiss-Davis last week. I had no idea when I made the call to her that I would be brought to tears by her story. Of course, they were happy tears.

Back in 2010, Barb Prentiss met this wonderful man his name was Al Davis. Al wasn’t without his own issues, as no one is. He had been in Vietnam, he had struggled with his demons. But while in a program for Vets that helped those with addictions and those that were homeless; he managed to find a life that he would never forget. One day he became connected with the local shopping mall. They needed a Santa. He said yes he would be their Santa, it become his job for the next fourteen to fifteen years. Al loved being Santa to the little children, hearing their wishes and seeing their joy.

How did they meet, you ask? They met on Match.com, in January of 2010. Barb worked and lived in Seattle as well. She didn’t immediately jump into the role of Mrs. Claus. She really didn’t think it was something she wanted to do or something that was for her. She would dress up occasionally as Mrs. Claus for family and friends at private gatherings. But one year, she struggled with what to get Santa for Christmas. He isn’t a material man. She decided she would stop and get a Mrs. Claus costume and hide it from him until Thanksgiving. That was when they planned to have their family gathering. She ran to the store, they had one costume left and it was her size. What a coincidence! She hid the costume and waited. That Thanksgiving the kids wanted them to dress up and take pics with the family. She walked out in her costume and all Al could do was cry. She knew she had just given him the best gift ever. That Christmas they went to Leavenworth, WA and walked around as Santa and Mrs. Claus. Barb still wasn’t sure this was for her. Then a little girl ran up and grabbed her hand and said she had always wanted to hold Mrs. Claus’ hand and spend time with her. From that moment, Barb knew she was Mrs. Claus. When the Davis’ married, she called her Dad to tell him she just married Santa. He told her that as a child she would ask Santa to marry her every year when she went to visit him at Christmas. All I could say was WOW! Miracles really do happen!

Santa and Mrs. Claus are now retired in Estes Park. They moved here in May of 2017. They have 5 kids and 8 grandchildren between them. Their kids live on the East Coast, so they decided in March of 2017 to start looking for a quaint little town to call home. They wanted to find a place that would allow them to be closer to the kids. They happened upon Estes Park. Neither of them had ever been here before. They found a realtor and started looking at houses. When they told the realtor what they did as a side job. They were shocked when the realtor said we need a Santa, our Santa passed away last year. It was then they knew, they had found their home. Santa doesn’t get around as well as he used to, but he will always have the magic of Christmas in his heart.