Christmas Newswire

Three years have passed since the Santa’s Village theme park in East Dundee closed its doors. A few attempts have been made on reopening the park at its old location, but without success. Well, now Santa is looking at a potential new location.

Santa Claus and officials from Grizzly Jack’s Grand Bear Lodge and Resort in Utica met last week to discuss possible plans on recreating a Santa’s Village on the property of the 90 million dollar resort. The Resort already owns some of the famous rides and props from the East Dundee theme park. Future plans would also possibly include some of the historic buildings and static displays from the IL Rts. 25 and 72 location.

“Santa’s Village remains a great memory for many people across the Midwest.” stated Joe Hook, general managing partner of Grizzly Jack’s Resort. “We look forward to creating this new magic for generations to come.”

The new park is in the planning stages and would not open for about two years, but that won’t stop the Resort from having many events and attractions this upcoming Christmas and into next summer that relate to Santa’s Village. There is even a new webpage, www.santasvillageatgrandbear.com where people can ask questions, make comments and suggestions on the project.

The Christmas season at Grand Bear Lodge will kick off on Friday November 28th with Santa Claus arriving at the resort. Santa will be Phillip L. Wenz, the Santa from Santa’s Village. He will also be making appearances on Sundays during the Holidays at the Resort’s “Sunday Brunch with Santa.” On Wednesday, December 10th, Santa will hold a very special “Storytime” at the Lodge.

Wenz will also be putting on display some of his memorabilia collection from Santa’s Village.

Plans next summer include a portion of the Resorts property to be developed into a temporary home for Santa’s Village. Guest will be able to ride historic attractions like the Snow Ball ride and the Convoy Trucks. Even Santa will be there with some of his original park props including the frozen North Pole. Negotiations for other props from the original location are being considered by the East Dundee property owner Sterling Bay/Griffon Associates.

“The site of the former amusement park at IL Rts. 72 and 25 in East Dundee is at the center of what will one day be a significant development for the village of East Dundee and the surrounding communities.” stated Patrick O’Connor, partner with Sterling Bay. “Whether that development includes some elements of the former Santa’s Village theme park is yet to be seen. Despite the current economic slowdown, we continue discussions with a number of interested parties.”

Santa’s Village in East Dundee opened in May of 1959 and officially closed its doors in May of 2006.

“There has always been open dialogue on the subject of Santa’s Village with Sterling Bay and Grizzly Jack’s Resort since the park’s assets were auctioned in October 2006.” commented Santa Phillip L. Wenz. “Everyone involved knows each other and everyone wants to do the right thing for Grizzly Jack’s, the East Dundee property and the future of Santa’s Village.”

For nearly 30 years the price of real Christmas trees has remained virtually unchanged. According to Joe Sharp, President of Yule Tree Farms in Canby Oregon (the fifth largest Christmas tree farm in the country) the median price for a Douglas Fir in 1980 was $25 and a Noble Fir was $45. Today Douglas Firs are selling for $22 to $24 and Noble Firs for $39.

The reason for this is the fact that there are 17,000 family farms that grow trees and production has not declined in spite of the fact that artificial trees and cultural changes reduced fresh cut sales by 30%. The Christmas tree business has proven to be recession proof and this seems to be because in times of economic hardships, consumers tend to spend money on things that make them feel good. Fresh Cut Christmas trees symbolize a time of joy and celebration and in the face challenging economic times–a happy respite.

Not only are real Christmas trees an inexpensive way to celebrate the holidays, but they are an environmentally friendly option. In 2007, Sharp co- founded the Coalition of Environmentally-Conscious Growersâ„¢, a non-profit organization, to certify that members’ trees are grown in a “green” responsible way.

Santa’s Good List officially went digital this weekend, as Santa Claus unveiled a new website where children can see if they’ve been naughty or nice. For the first time ever, boys and girls from around the world will now be able to view the coveted good list via computer by visiting www.SantasGoodList.org .

“Santa’s Good List is constantly changing, so it has previously been impossible to publish it”, explained Mark Bulleit, one of two Santa Claus, Indiana residents who helped Santa launch the website. “Only now, with the power of the internet, is publishing a real-time list possible.”

The free website allows children to chat with one of Santa’s elves, who quiz them on their behavior in such areas as making their bed, brushing their teeth and doing their homework. Children are asked to promise Santa that they’ll work hard to improve any problem areas identified, and upon doing so, are recommended for Santa’s Good List.

A special email from Santa alerts children that they’ve made Santa’s Good List, and allows them to digitally flip pages to find their name on the all-important list.

“When it comes to online content for children, parents are often lucky simply to find activities that are absent of negative influences,” said Kevin Klosowski, the other elf who worked on the site for Santa. “I love the fact that SantasGoodList.org engages children in a fun activity that truly promotes positive behavior.”

Bulleit and Klosowski both reside in Santa Claus, Indiana with their families, and each has three young children of belief age. They cite their love of Christmas and their desire for safer and more wholesome childrens activities as the driving force behind their efforts to help Santa with his website.

SantasGoodList.org was unveiled as part of Santa Claus, Indiana’s 2008 Christmas Kick-Off held this past weekend. The event also featured the unveiling of the Santa Claus Post Office’s 2008 holiday pictorial postmark and an announcement of the grand marshal for the town’s annual Christmas in Santa Claus Festival Parade to be held on December 13th of this year.