Call him St. Nicholas, Father Christmas, a jolly old elf, Santa Claus, or The Big Guy – just like the elves do at the North Pole! While his name may change around the world, there’s one thing families know: Santa represents love – love for family, love for one another, love for tradition, and love for the holiday season.
Like tens of thousands of other Richmonders, I first met Legendary Santa at Miller & Rhoads, the Virginia department store which operated from 1885 to 1990. Every year in mid-December, my mother would dress me in a festive holiday outfit, and we would stand by the roadside and wait to catch the Greyhound bus into town from our Goochland home. Before heading to the Richmond store’s seventh floor, where I would behold the kingdom of Santaland with its glittering snow and intricate train displays, we strolled around the outside of the Sixth Street building – what seemed like a skyscraper to me! – and admired the holiday window displays.
Santa’s home away from home was magical. It was interactive and all on my sight level. Now, mind you when I was a toddler, I wasn’t sure about this entire experience. The poor Snow Queen had her hands full with me. I opted to sit on the floor near Santa’s boots and just look up at him, sobbing part of the time.
But as the years passed, I was so excited to see him, I couldn’t contain myself. I always had butterflies when I caught a glimpse of Legendary Santa, especially when he visited with guests at Miller & Rhoads’ Tea Room during Lunch with Santa, which later became Tea with Santa.
I was never disappointed. Santa always listened to me even though my time with him was brief. His kindness gave me hope and a belief in the spirit of the holiday season – a belief that is still strong today.
Jeffrey Roberts, director of operations at the Children’s Museum of Richmond (CMoR) which now hosts Legendary Santa, has a very similar recollection. He was a toddler when he first visited Santaland at Miller & Rhoads.
“When I was going to see Santa, I remember the different displays that were set up as you weave through the lines. There were animatronics and moving animals representing the construction of toys. I remember how long the wait was,” adding that those wait-times are reduced at CMoR because of the magic of a timed ticketing system.
“I also remember having butterflies and being so nervous about talking to Santa,” he adds. “I remember Snow Queen taking those butterflies away with a snowflake of courage and then feeling so excited. I was so overjoyed to talk to Santa. I remember the Santa teas at the Tea Room at Miller & Rhoads. My mom and my two aunts are also Legendary Santa kids.”
The Legend Lives On
Legendary Santa has been coming to Richmond since 1936. “I got an invitation from Miller & Rhoads saying they had a lot of kids there who wanted to see me,” says Santa, adding that back then they asked him to be on the job in Santaland to greet kids and families the day after Thanksgiving.
The timing of the invitation couldn’t have been better. In the late 1930s, the country was still working its way out of the Great Depression, and families were looking for something to lift their spirits.
“I loved coming to Miller & Rhoads. They couldn’t have been kinder,” says Santa.
By 1942, Legendary Santa was drawing crowds that numbered around 15,000, as noted by author Leeanne Meadows Ladin for her book, Legendary Santa’s Stories from the Chair. The Children’s Museum has been recording numbers of up to 25,000 annually since the program moved there in 2005.
When Miller & Rhoads closed in 1990, Legendary Santa, along with Snow Queen, moved to Thalhimers for a few years, then to Sixth Street Marketplace and the Richmond Convention Center before heading to CMoR.
“The Children’s Museum stepped up and said we will create Santaland,” says Santa. “We plan on being there forever!”
Santa and his reindeer fly down to Richmond every morning during his stay. “It’s really neat to fly in,” says Santa. “I get to the Children’s Museum before sunrise so no one can see me,” noting that CMoR’s flat roof makes landing very convenient.
When he flies home at night, he uses his Legendary Santa magic to make the long trip seem like only minutes. Back at the North Pole, he checks in with his main elves and with Mrs. Claus.
“Let’s be serious, she’s the boss,” Santa says. “She and the elves run the place, and they are great.”
Santa’s Elf Chris has been working at CMoR since 2015. He travels in the sleigh with Santa as does the Snow Queen who is coming to Richmond that day. “I make sure all the reindeer are good to go and make sure Snow Queen is comfortable. I’m Santa’s right-hand man,” says Elf Chris.
Being Santa’s elf is all-encompassing, he adds. “I’m getting children ready to see Santa, sitting next to Santa, reading the children’s letters, and making them comfortable.”
Elf Chris loves seeing multiple generations of large families come to see The Big Guy and reminisce. “There are so many generations in one photo. I get them all together. It’s so much fun,” he says.
And working with Snow Queen is also a treat, Elf Chris says. “Not a lot of people know this about her, but she is a snowball expert,” he says. “Snow Queen taught the elves how to make the perfect snowball.
”When it comes to children waiting to see Santa, “Snow Queen helps them get over the apprehension they have,” says Elf Chris. “She brings a sweet, lovely energy to the experience as a whole.”
Snow Queen Ashanti, who has been accompanying Santa to Richmond on and off for the last three years, comes from a long line of Snow Queens who live in a snow palace in the North Pole and take turns on Santa’s Richmond trip.
“My memory is a bit of a flurry. Since I’ve been working with Santa, it has been a great experience,” says Snow Queen Ashanti, who loves meeting new families. “It’s heartwarming to share this experience with them.”
Snow Queen Ashanti talks with the kids about what they like to do and traditions they share with their families during the holidays. If they seem apprehensive about seeing Santa, she gives them a snowflake of courage.
“I send down a gentle flurry and pick out a special one for that child,” she says, adding that she knows the whole Santa experience can be overwhelming for kids. “They have to press it to their heart to help give them courage to speak up.”
Keeping up with technology is one of Santa’s biggest concerns. Because the world and the tech we all use are ever-changing, Santa does his best to keep on top of things. “I now carry a laptop with me. I keep the good and naughty lists on the Internet, and we’ve made it hack-proof,” he says, adding he gets many notes via email these days, but still appreciates handwritten notes from the kids.
Children ask Santa for different things at different ages, everything from toys to pets. For that pet request, Santa has a special response: “We have to check with your grownup on that. They have to say it’s okay.”
Santa visits aren’t just for young folks. Believers of all ages make their way to see Santa. “I have one couple in their seventies or eighties who come every year by themselves,” Santa recalls. “They dress up and always ask for the same thing – peace on Earth. I tell them if I could do that, I would be the happiest person in the world.”
Some of the requests the kids make come directly from their heart. “I get everything: please bring Mommy and Daddy in the military home safe; please make Mom or Grandma better. When someone is sick, I tell them I can’t promise that they will be all better, but I can promise that I will do all I can, and I know you will do everything you can to love them,” Santa says, adding that he and Snow Queen take a break after these types of requests because Santa doesn’t let anyone see him cry.
Legendary Santa at CMoR Downtown
Accommodating Santa and his team in their permanent home at CMoR was a “big deal,” Roberts says. “It’s such a Richmond tradition, and it’s even bigger than Richmond. People come from all across the country, and we have a few people from out of the country who come to see Santa here. It’s a really beautiful pairing – the Children’s Museum and Santa. We are both quintessentially Richmond. We share the joy with families in more ways than one.”
Because the program did not close during the pandemic, Legendary Santa is one of the longest continually running Santa programs in the country. Macy’s started its Santa program earlier than 1936 (the year Legendary Santa launched at Miller & Rhoads), but it did close the program for two years during the pandemic.
While many in-person sessions with Santa shut down in 2020 and 2021, Santaland continued operation. Safety protocols were implemented to keep the beloved CMoR program running. For example, staff created a custom bench and plexiglass divider that was invisible in photos.
“We kept everyone safe in their visits. It was a wonderful way to bring some positivity to families in such a hard time. It also provided a great amount of profit, which financially sustained the museum and was vital to keeping our doors open,” Roberts says.
Because Santa is for children and families of all different cultures, CMoR installed its Holiday Village in the lobby. The display represents different holiday traditions from around the world. “Our intention is to make the celebration multicultural,” Roberts says.
Setting up Santaland is a huge task that normally starts around the middle of October. “It’s a big undertaking. It’s like setting up a second business in the Children’s Museum,” Roberts says. “It even has its own staff and break room.”
Santaland takes up about 1,500 square feet of the Children’s Museum. In addition, the lobby, about 2,000 square feet, turns into dedicated space for Legendary Santa. The Fawn Shop, an experience where children can shop for friends and family without an adult, takes up 600 square feet.
“Children shop with the help of a volunteer. They can pick out presents for their loved one and make decisions on their own,” Roberts says, adding that parents purchase fawn bucks that are then given to the child to use for shopping. Sometimes the kids will come with thoughtful gifts for the family and sometimes they just come out with their own favorite toy.
There Will Always Be Santa Magic!
Because of my experiences visiting Legendary Santa, decades later I took my daughter Angela to share in the tradition. Of course, she went through the same anxiety when she was a toddler – she decided standing near him was enough. But then that anxiety morphed into excitement over what she would talk with him about and what he would bring her on Christmas.
Like lots of other families, we shared the tradition of leaving a few cookies and a glass of milk out for Santa on Christmas Eve. “Santa loves cookies,” says Santa. “My favorite is chocolate chip. If you leave cookies and milk out, I will definitely take a bite!”
Roberts believes the reason Legendary Santa has become such a beloved tradition for families is the high quality of the experience. “People find value in it and find the experience to be something that is world-class,” he says. “It’s a way to focus on the positivity and joy of the holidays. It’s so pure. It’s what the holidays are about: coming together and spending quality time with friends and family.”
