Santa Claus Lane isn’t as far away as one might expect. In fact, it exists in the heart of Greenville, at the corner of Camellia and Burning Bush drives.
Judy Long, regarded as Greenville’s own Mrs. Santa Claus, proves firsthand why she has more than earned that title and address.
For two decades, Long has hosted members of the community at her annual Drive-by and Wave at Santa event.
People from throughout the city each year drive by Long’s home to view the decorations and visit with Mr. and Mrs. Claus, making for a wonderful family activity leading up to Christmas day.
The highly-anticipated drive-by event is something Long hosted with her late husband, Jimmy, until he died in 2017, and still continues every year.
Not only is Long’s lawn engulfed by beautiful lights and various lawn decorations, the inside of her home is just as, if not more, impressive to behold.
Like stepping into a Christmas dream, Long’s house is filled with multiple beautifully-decorated Christmas trees, an extensive miniature Christmas-themed village, an assortment of angels, a pair of life-sized Santas and hundreds of Santa dolls and figurines.
Her immense array of Santas is a collection she has built over a period of nearly 24 years.
From scuba diving and cowboy Santas to Kung Fu and Rock & Roll Santas, Long just might have every kind of Santa Claus in every persuasion one could think of.
“I have about 800 Santas, but they don’t all stay out,” Long said, noting the ones behind her glass case stay on display year round.
She has Santas that hail from Italy, Mexico, Switzerland, Germany, Ireland and even Hawaii.
One of Long’s favorites is one in which Santa is holding a list with names of different children.
The list, however, isn’t filled with just random names — it is a list with the names of all of Long’s children and grandchildren at the time.
Since then, she’s had several more which would call for a much longer scroll.
Another favorite of Long’s is a margarita drinking Santa which her granddaughter gifted her with, equipped with Tabasco and reminiscent of Long’ s fondness of margaritas.
“If one’s missing, I know it,” she said intently of her Santa collection.
One of Long’s sons served in the Air Force so befittingly, she has an Air Force Santa as well as another military Santa draped in camouflage, complete with combat boots.
As an Arkansas Razorbacks fan, it’s only appropriate and quite expected that Long would have an Arkansas Razorback-themed Santa or two on her shelf, and indeed she did.
Long’s Santa Claus collection, quite frankly, is unmatched and she has a story or sentiment for each one of them.
In a room of its own, Long’s mini Christmas-themed town village is home to a Cracker Barrel, Chick-Fil-A, Walmart, Dollar General, Lowe’s and even a Mexican restaurant.
“It’s not El Toro but I’ve got a Mexican restaurant in there,” she jokingly said.
Her “village” is a collection that has amassed over several years as well.
Long said her late husband, Jimmy, bought her the first three pieces — a toy shop, church and florist — for her now burgeoning village.
“It started out as one card table full then it went to two card tables and now the rest is history,” Long said.
The pieces aren’t chosen at random, she said, noting they all have meaning and value.
“I try to find things that mean something to me,” she said.
One example she gave is of the street on the other side of Matty Akin Elementary School she lives close to — Holly Lane.
“I found a school that is called ‘Holly Lane School.’ I don’t know how I did that,” she said.
Keeping with the sentiment of her village, Long found a ‘Jennifer’s Craft Shop,’ because of her granddaughter, Jennifer, and an ‘Oxford Hotel,’ evocative of her children who live in Oxford.
Another highlight of the village is a makeshift mountain, which Long is very proud of.
It resembles the perfect snow day setting in which children are engaged in a snowball fight with the mountain of “snow” as the backdrop, almost a scene from a Christmas story.
To add to the delightful scene is three nuns having a snowball fight and a beautifully placed ice skating rink.
With the village being as lively and lovely to look at as it is, Long said her grandchildren have enjoyed playing with the figurines throughout the years, and one could easily see how much of a child magnet it is.
Long raised the question, “If you have all of this and nobody can see it then, what’s the point?”
For those who stop by to visit with Mr. and Mrs. Claus during the Drive-by and Wave at Santa event, Long said many adults and children alike are just as eager to see the inside of her house, which she is always happy to show off.
As she approaches her 20th year of hosting the event, Long said she is surprised people are still enthusiastic about it.
“Every year, I’m going, ‘Are we gonna be able to do this?’” she said.
The answer to that is and has been, “Absolutely yes.”
Before Jimmy died, Long said he said he was always happy to be Santa but alluded it might be nice to have someone else portray St. Nick some nights.
Since then, times have changed but more so for the better because now there’s hardly ever a problem coming across people who want to volunteer as Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus.
“Now people just call and say, ‘Can we be Mr. and Mrs. Claus one night?” Long said.
Owning six Santa suits, Long said she is always happy to let people assist.
This year’s Drive By and Wave at Santa event will run from 6-8 p.m. Dec. 14-23.
