Wooden Santas bring holiday joy

Santa finally came out of storage last week. He had been there for the past 11 months. 

He’s not quite 3 feet tall, with a thick head of white hair and a glorious beard. His slick red suit is made of polyester fibers. (Yes, he was born in China … along with just about everything else.)

He was a gift from one of my wife’s co-workers almost 25 years ago. Once upon a time, he could talk. He carried around some AA batteries in his belly, and would let out a rousing “Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!” whenever someone triggered his motion detector.  That part of him no longer works. Silent night.

Santa is quite photogenic. We have photos of him from across the years, taken with different people in different poses in different places. A few selfies, too … and elfies.

On Sunday, I propped him in an upstairs window to stand guard and survey the sidewalk and street below. He’s our own version of “neighborhood watch.’’

My wife loves decorating for Christmas. She also has a collection of more than 50 hand-crafted classic Santas on display in a curio and on a mantel above the fireplace during the holidays. 

But our favorite Santa gathering can be found on a front wall in our dining room. 

These Santas are special because they were hand-carved and painted by our friend, Neil Creter. 

Or, as I like to call him, “St. Neilcholaus.”

There are 15 jolly souls standing in formation along three shelves. From across the room, they all look the same. But each is unique. 

Their long beards flow along their faces in different ways. Their eyes and eyebrows are not cookie-cut, as if they came off an assembly line. Their robes have contrasting shades and patterns.

The most distinct feature is what each is carrying in their hands. The seven individual Santas across the bottom shelf are holding a candy cane, lantern, gingerbread man, a wrapped present, a dog, a snowman and a sack of toys slung over his shoulder.

On the shelf above, the Santas are clutching an angel, a chapel, a heart, a wreath, a  star, a cross and a Christmas tree.

The Santa at the top has a cross with a dove, the symbol of peace.

Neil is a 1960 graduate of Lanier Senior High for Boys in Macon. He worked for eight years as a detective with the Macon Police Department until GEICO opened a regional office in Macon in the early 1970s. He spent 33 years in accounting.

When he retired in 2008, he had planned to build a dark room for photography in the basement of his home. He changed his mind and transformed it into a woodshop.

For years, he always had a woodworking project going, from building furniture and cabinets to shaping wood into bowls and crosses. He was in his element. Sometimes he would go down there “just to smell the sawdust.’’

  His signature creation was his Santa Clauses. Every Christmas, he would bring them to life from northern basswood grown in the forests of Minnesota. Each block of wood was 9 inches long, 4 inches wide and 2 inches thick.

The special Santa trademarks would change themes every year. He never sold them. He would give them to more than four dozen family and friends.  My family was honored to be included on his list.

Neil also devoted six months every year to making mangers, sleds, reindeer, crosses and other symbols of the season. As a member of the Middle Georgia Woodworkers Association, he made more than 200 wooden toys every Christmas for Native American children living on Indian reservations.

Neil and Marsha, his wife of 57 years, moved to the Florida panhandle in 2023 to be closer to their daughter, Stacey Greenway. 

We miss them and think of them often. Part of him is still here. His Santas are spread across Macon and Middle Georgia.

Thank you, Neil, for your gifts of love. There is no expiration date on bringing joy to the world.