A Trip to Santa’s Village
Sure, you know what Santa Claus does in December. But did you ever wonder where he goes in the off-season? You can always find him at Santa’s Village, a Jefferson, NH Christmas-themed amusement park.
On the eve of taking my own children on their first visit to the seasonal wonderland, I had the pleasure of chatting with “Santa’s Helper” Elaine Gainer about the operation, marketing and history of the Village.
Gainer’s parents founded the park in 1953, and she and her husband Mike took over management in the late 1960s. The couple now spends part of the year in Florida, where I reached her for this interview. “Now our very capable children and their spouses — Melanie and Nick Staley, and Christian and Pamela Gainer — are managing, so we don’t have to be there all the time,” she says.
The park attracts young families from New England, Montreal and New York via print brochures, ads in guidebooks and TV and radio spots. They don’t use direct mail, but are considering building an e-mail file for promotional purposes.
CM PLUS: What was the idea behind starting a Christmas theme park?
GAINER: Legend has it that my father and I were driving down US2. A little fawn jumped out in front of the car and I asked him if that was one of Santa’s reindeer and he said yes. I hadn’t realized it at the time, but my parents had thought about opening an amusement park of sorts and were looking for land. They had a dry cleaning business in Lancaster, NH, and the chemicals affected my father’s health [so they wanted a change]. They were in their 30s and full of work ethic.
Of course, the people in Lancaster thought they were just nuts. Back then, there was no such thing as a theme park. It was before Disney land opened its doors and the status of an “amusement park” was less than favorable. But the timing was good. It was a few years after World War II, the baby boom era. And it was the first time many people had cars, so they were able to travel.
CM PLUS: What was the park like in the early days?
GAINER: At first they just had a few buildings, they had Santa Claus, the only ride was a pony ride and they had a little show with Frances the Mule, who drank out of a whisky bottle. It was very basic, but people seemed to enjoy it. They put everything they had into the business, and every year kept adding on to it.
CM PLUS: When did you get in involved in the business?
GAINER: My husband Mike and I took over the management in the late 1960s, and we adopted their philosophy of making sure we grew with the times. We attended all the trade shows we could to find out what the trends were, that kind of thing.
CM PLUS: How has the business changed over the years? Has it become more competitive?
GAINER: The only competition we have is getting the people to drive a little farther north, because we’re at the North Pole. (laughs) We have an association of amusement parks here in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and we work together, so I wouldn’t consider them competition. If we were just one attraction we wouldn’t be able to attract the numbers of visitors that we do. I think success brings success in the White Mountains, as well as everywhere. We work well together.
CM PLUS: Is this your busiest time of year?
GAINER: We get 150,000 to 200,000 visitors on an annual basis. At Christmastime, we’re only open Saturday and Sunday, so those are our busiest weekends. In the summer, we’re open on a daily basis, so that is probably our busiest season. It’s hard to define. The busiest days are at Christmas, but the busiest month is August.
CM PLUS: What would surprise an outsider about the business?
GAINER: We always have a good time with what we’re doing. Well, I take that back. Sometimes we lose power, or there are things beyond our control. But for the most part, it’s a pretty well oiled machine. We love to create things and do neat things to make our guests visit more enjoyable.
CM PLUS: What’s new at the park this year?
GAINER: We’re talking about adding a couple of new rides next season. Christmastime is the icing on our cupcake, so we aren’t going to do anything until next spring. We recently added Santa’s Reindeer Rendezvous, a huge beautiful barn where people can learn about reindeer, feed them and pat them. And we also have Reindeer Games, a playground area with obstacle courses.
CM PLUS: I’m assuming no one gets excluded and everyone gets to play?
GAINER: Oh yes. (laughs)
CM PLUS: Do you believe in Santa?
GAINER: We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t believe.
CM PLUS: What are you hoping Santa brings you this year?
GAINER: What I’m really hoping for is a granddaughter. We have three grandsons now, and my daughter is expecting mid-December. So if Santa wanted to bring us an early Christmas present, he would bring her to us, all healthy.
