World's Oldest Santa Claus School: Midland, Michigan

Every Christmas season, we see a plethora of Santa Clauses wherever we go: skinny Santas, fat Santas, tall Santas, short Santas, male & female Santas, and Santas of practically every race and color.

In other words, Santa is all people, no matter the background or where they came from.

And guess what? The world's oldest Santa Claus school is here in Michigan. Midland is the home of the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School that kicked off in 1937.

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But it didn't begin n Michigan.

Howard was living in New York when he decided to start some kind of program to build a better Santa. He got the idea from seeing some very lame (sometimes drunk) Santas out in public: some had scraggy & cheap-looking beards, ripped suits, and a terrible knowledge about what Santa should know about himself.

His first classes were held in Albion, New York, with three students.

In 1960 the school was handed off to another Santa, Nate Doan, who moved the school to Bay City, Michigan in 1968.

Tom Valent visited the Santa school in Bay City in 1975 and became a student. The school was eventually moved to Midland and is currently managed by Tom and his wife Holly. The original three-Santa student body in 1937 has now grown to approximately 300 each year.

You can learn more about the Santa school here. Ever think about being a Santa?

Ever imagine what it would be like to receive a hug from an awestruck child who loves Santa Claus? It's something that could melt your heart.
Think about it.