Santa House Appears At Kmart

Santa's house magically appeared at Kmart in Warsaw Wednesday morning.

Santa and his elves are reportedly arriving soon to find out what local good boys and girls want under their trees and in their stockings this Christmas season.

"Santa's House" is sponsored by the Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club. Children visiting Santa at the house will get a free candy cane and instant picture taken with Santa.

Hours are Dec. 6-23: Fridays, 5:30 to 9 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sundays, 1 to 5 p.m. On Dec. 21 from 6 to 9 p.m. and Dec. 22 from 1 to 5 p.m., there will be bilingual Santa Clauses.

Last year, Karen Peterson, Optimists, said more than 1,200 kids visited Santa. More are expected this year.

"It really was nice last year," said Art Gakstatter, Optimists.

This year, the high school spin-off club of the Optimists, the Octagon Club, will be a major force in helping with and decorating the house, he said. "Our whole thing is 'friends of youth' and it's so neat to see kids" helping kids.

While there is no charge for kids visiting Santa, donations are welcomed. This is the second year for Santa's House at Kmart, and the Optimists have been sponsoring the event for approximately the last five years. The house previously was operated by the Warsaw Exchange Club, who then handed over the house they built to the Optimists.

"Santa's House is a longstanding tradition," said Bruce Woodward, Optimists.

"It takes a lot of man hours," said Gakstatter, to make this annual event happen.

Peterson said the house has been around for more than 40 years and underwent some recent remodeling. Many local merchants, she said, have helped out with that and the decorations.