by Carol Ann Nielsen
The answer is ‘yes’.

Our five sons were all raised in a small Idaho town. Living nearby was a sweet couple we knew as Press and Carolyn. Press happened to have a snow white beard and a large round belly, and he was always cheerful. Come December, Press would don a bright red suit, trimmed in white, with a wide black belt, black boots, a twinkle in his eye and a genuine long, white beard. And Carolyn was in her red dress and apron. Could this be? Could they be?

As far as my five young sons were concerned it certainly was. They were a very important part of our Christmas celebration.

As time went by, things changed and we moved from that small Idaho town, to a very large town, Las Vegas. How could we possibly leave our small town roots? How could we leave a snowy, cold Christmas Eve at Grandma Dora’s house? And most of all what would happen to Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus?

We packed up our moving van and on the 24th of July, we said our good-bye’s to family and friends and of course to Press and Carolyn.

We soon adjusted to Christmas with palm trees and sunshine. Grandma Dora still sent the kids special little treats for Christmas Eve and Santa still left plenty of toys under our Las Vegas Christmas tree. But we missed seeing our Santa during the rest of the year.

Our third son, Joseph especially missed them and he questioned us about if Press was really Santa.
Of course I would reply yes.

After living in Las Vegas for some time, our oldest son, Jake was working a newspaper route. One morning he came home filled with excitement. He had delivered a paper to our old Idaho friends Press and Carolyn. Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus had moved to Las Vegas. We could hardly believe it. Joe was the most excited. Now Joe was old enough to supposedly ‘not believe’. But he still knew this was the true Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus.

We were anxious to renew our friendship with Press and Carolyn. What fortunate circumstances had brought our friends from Idaho to Las Vegas; and what a miracle that we had found each other. Even though the boys had grown up considerably since moving, they all know that we had found the real Santa Claus.

These people were special. When we visited their home, the gifts were wrapped with great care and with the fanciest, most decorative wrappings. They told us that this was a favorite part of their Christmas, wrapping the gifts. No fake bows or paper Christmas bags under their tree. In fact, it was a contest to see who could wrap the prettiest gift.

It didn’t matter what was in the package or how big it was, for Press and Carolyn, it was always the spirit of the gift that counted.

Many missionaries were taken care of every Christmas by Press and Carolyn. They told many stories about feeding and entertaining the elders on Christmas. They had a great love for these young men.

We kept the friendship for several years until Press’ age and ill health caught up to him. After he passed away, Joe didn’t understand how Christmas could go on without Santa. I had lots of long talks with Joe about Preston and all the joy he had brought to our family and others. Joe and I decided that since Press was gone, perhaps Joe could step in and start bringing the same joy to others that Press had done so well for so many years.

Joe is a big fella, so it was easy for him to play the part. Suddenly he and I were dressing up each Christmas, ringing the jingle bells and learning to say ‘ho, ho, ho’. Big Joe became Santa to his nieces and nephews and to lots of other small children at family and ward parties.

It has been a blessing for Joe to be able to bring joy to these children at Christmas. And while we don’t have Santa at the ward parties anymore, Joe and I still visit the neighbors on Christmas Eve keeping the tradition of Press and Carolyn alive.

He has one neighborhood family that he has visited for many years. Some of the children who were young when he started have grown up now. But Joe is still their real Santa. So when some one asks me if there is a real Santa, I answer ‘absolutely yes’. And he has found much joy and happiness in the part.