Santa Claus Museum
Santa Claus, Indiana
The history of Santa Claus -- the town, not the man -- is told at the Santa Claus Museum, with a section devoted to the town's premiere attraction, Santa Claus Land (now named Holiday World) whose owner is the founder and president of the museum. Visitors can sit in Santa's sleigh for a souvenir photo, or gaze at old postcards and souvenirs from Santa Lands that no longer exist.
We were impressed by dozens of signed celebrity photos lining the walls. Did '70s swingers like Jim "Gomer Pyle" Nabors and tv sportscaster Howard Cosell really visit Santa Claus? No, the curator told us, those photos were just someone's autograph collection. Then she showed us photos of the celebrities who really did visit: Ronald Reagan in 1955 and Jeannie C. "Harper Valley PTA" Riley in 1967.
[Kids! Don't read this next paragraph.]
Perhaps the most prized exhibit in the museum is the typewriter used for 30 years in the Santa Claus post office to answer countless Dear Santa letters. That task today is handled in the museum by a staff of volunteer "elves" who respond to roughly 10,000 letters each year. The most charming Dear Santa requests become exhibits in the museum.