There's a town called Santa Claus that celebrates Christmas all year round

Andy Williams says it best: "It's the most wonderful time of the year," so why not celebrate it all year round?

And in Santa Claus, Indiana, that's really the only option. The town is named after the big man, so of course conversations about him can't be limited to just one month a year.

Dubbing itself 'America's Christmas Hometown', Santa Claus is home to attractions such as Santa's Candy Castle, Santa Claus Museum, Santa's Lakeside Cottages and Santa's Stables.

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A statue of Santa Claus peers out over the town through winter, spring, summer and autumn, and visitors can enjoy days out visiting wineries, parks or even doing a bit of shopping in the town's very own Santa's Toys shop.

Santa Claus wasn't dedicated to the festive theme when it was first founded in 1854, as back then the town was actually dubbed Santa Fe.

However, local officials found themselves in trouble when they tried to set up a post office, as another Santa Fe Post Office in another Indiana town called Santa Fe already existed.

So the town was ultimately renamed Santa Claus, and Christmas officially moved in.

Nell Hedge, the previous director of the Santa Claus Museum, has told a story of how the whole town met up on Christmas Eve to figure out a new name for the area.

She claimed: “The doors flew open on the building and a little girl heard the jingle of a Santa sleigh bell, and she said ‘Santa Claus’ and the town said ‘Santa Claus’."

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Residents set about naming roads after Santa's reindeer and other Christmassy-themed objects, and each year the town throws a Santa Claus Christmas Parade as part of three weekend-long Santa Claus Christmas Celebration.

This year, the parade route travelled past Lake Rudolph Campground & RV Resort, St. Nicholas Church, and the Santa Claus Fire Department.

Until 26 December, visitors will also be able to see the story of Rudolph played out in LED lights, thanks to the Santa Claus Land of Lights, a 1.2-mile drive-through 'family Christmas light adventure'.

Those taking a trip to the town will be enjoy a stay at Christmas Cottage, Mistletoe Manor, Santa's Lodge or Gingerbread House, and those who can't make it to the town themselves can post letters there, as the area is used to receiving thousands of letters addressed to Father Christmas himself.

We're in the midst of Christmas cheer at the moment, but if you need a bit of a boost in six months' time then Santa Claus is definitely the place to visit.

Topics: Christmas

Emily Brown

Emily Brown is the Community Desk Lead at LADbible Group. Emily first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route. She went on to graduate with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University before contributing to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems. She joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features, and now works as Community Desk Lead to commission and write human interest stories from across the globe.