20 Years of Cody’s Santa House
It’s hard to believe that Cody is in its 20th year of having Santa House be that magical place for children to visit with Santa. The Santa House was started by the Cody Chamber Events Committee in 2005 and has been a celebrated Christmas time tradition for the last 20 years.
The Santa House made its debut on the lawn of the old Marathon Building facing Stampede Ave. After a few years up there it was moved to City Park where it has returned each Christmas season for over 15 years. Many children and even adults in the community have been visiting from the beginning!
This year the Santa House will be transitioning from being run by the Cody Chamber Events Committee volunteers and is now being taken over by the Cody Rotary Club. With the Cody Rotary Club the Santa House will be receiving a face lift to keep it moving forward for hopefully the next 20 years. Please read below to see who was there from the beginning and all those who have supported it over the years.
The Magic of Santa House
Sitting in City Park under the Santa Blvd sign, is a tiny house covered with bright twinkling lights in white, and red. There is garland and tinsel around the doors, candy cane lights hung by the windows and candy cane rope lights adorning the front porch. There is a letter to Santa mailbox next to a bright red door. Opening the door, you are greeted with a rush of holiday magic.
Inside you will find a brightly lit Christmas tree, a fireplace with an adorned mantle of décor, a beautiful bench and most importantly Santa’s chair. This small home gives off the best feeling of Christmas. Children line up outside the front door for their turn with Santa to tell him what their Christmas wishes are. Some children are dressed in fancy holiday attire along with Mom and Dad so they can get the perfect family Santa photo.
Some children are adorned with festive onesies and their lists in hand just excited to see Santa. There are eager new parents with their babies bundled to keep warm in the cold and overjoyed when they can set their new baby in Santa’s arms for their first ever Santa photo. Some families also bring aunt/uncle and Grandma and Grandpa who are visiting from out of town or out of the country so they too can enjoy the Christmas magic and such a memorable time with the children. Families from out of town or out of state who are in the area for the Holidays love coming in and are in awe of the décor and spirit the house represents.
Sure, not everyone is excited to see Santa, there are a few who freeze at the door after talking about him all the way there. They shyly step in as Mom or Dad gently nudges them and Santa bribes them with a candy cane. Some children are completely fine until mom or dad sets them on Santa for the photo and that is the end of it, screaming and crying (these are mostly 1.5 – 3 yr olds) it gets better as they get older.
Many children have a whole list for Santa, some only have a few items. For some children they have home lives that no child should be subjected to, these children many times ask for Family time for Christmas, or to see a parent whom they haven’t in a long time, one child even asked for a bell from Santa’s sleigh just to have a piece of Christmas magic. All these scenarios are why the Santa House runs every year by volunteers and free of charge for all families to enjoy!
Core memories for the children of our community and those traveling through are made at the Santa House every year. Seeing the sparkle in a child’s eye and the way their face lights up is why we keep doing the Santa House every year and plan on for many more years to come.
Support over the years
There have been a large number of wonderful volunteers over the last 20 years! Santa Help volunteers have been outstanding and know who they are and how much we wouldn’t be able to run without them!
Vi Tyron and Sue Bischoff did a wonderful job managing the Santa House for many years and then passed it off to Alison Scheu who started volunteering in 2009 and has been running the house for the last eight years.
Pinnacle Bank has provided continuous support with the Santa photos.
Ed Martin, Bill Wiltse, John Stephan, and Lyndon Winkler have done a wonderful job over the years bringing the spirit of Santa to life!
Eagle Recovery and Cody Paint and Body have been generous and transported the Santa House over the years. Storing of the house was generously provided by Greg & Ann Pendley and also Custom Garage Door. Candy Canes have generously been donated by Wyoming Buffalo Company in the last couple years and Albertson’s prior. Monetary Donations have been received over the years from Cook Moving and Storage, Libations, Park County Travel Council, The Irma Hotel, Big Horn Radio Network and private donors.
Decorating and keeping up with the Santa House the last few years has been taken care of by the Winklers (Lyndon, Nancy, Chloe and Garret) and the Scheu’s (Alison & Jordan).
The City Parks and Rec Department also needs special recognition as they have allowed the use of the restrooms, shoveled snow, trimmed branches, checked electrical, and much more for the Santa House over the years making sure everything ran smoothly in the City Park location.
Those at the Beginning
2005 Cody Chamber Events Committee: Margie Johnson, Kim Brice, Vi Tyron, Sue Bischoff, Judy Spittler, Mary Ann Stensing, Stan Townsend, Sharon Nielsen, Sandy Newsome, Shelly Lehman, Robin Berry, Christine Houze and Jann Smith.
Builders: Dan Brice, Josh Brice, Jeff LaMascus, and Max Mulford.
Donations/Supplies: UBC, Titan Truss, LLC, Aldrich Lumber, SCC-Statton Construction, Tanager Beverages, Big Horn Carpet, Big Horn Paint, Buck n’ Horse Electric, Iverson Sanitation, Wal-Mart, Dale Sims, Park County Commissioners, Reindeer Ranch, Rocky Mtn Custom Photo, Pinnacle Bank, Rotary Club, Sierra Trading Post, Shoshone Bank, Cody Trolley Tours, Jack & Diane Martin, MCP Management, Steve Bundt, A-1 Electric, Ace Hardware, Gambles, Yvonne Lofland Painting, Crum Electric, Chuck’s Signs, Mountain West Screenprinters, Applied Graphics, Sue Schultz, Brad Constantine.
Many thanks to all who have made Santa House into such a cherished Holiday tradition here in Cody!
Alison Scheu
Content Manager - Events for Cody Journal
Real Estate Agent - 307 Real Estate
My name is Alison Scheu and I am a born and raised Cody gal with family throughout the Big Horn Basin. I am not only a Cody High School Alumni but also a Northwest College and University of Wyoming Alumni. Living in Cody with my husband, daughter and dogs is nothing short of a blessing.