• Home

The Complete Pilgrim - Religious Travel Sites

Howard Kramer's, The Complete Pilgrim, Religious Travel Site

  • AMERICAN RELIGIOUS SITES
  • CHRISTIAN SITES
  • JEWISH SITES
  • CATHOLIC SITES
  • ISLAMIC SITES
  • INDIAN/HINDU SITES
  • HOLIDAY SITES
  • CASTLES
  • BATTLEFIELDS
  • MOUNTAINS
  • NATURE
  • WILDLIFE SITES
  • PHOTO GALLERIES
  • ARCHIVES
  • ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

SANTA CLAUS HOUSE

October 16, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

North Pole, Alaska

Santa Claus House (wikipedia.com)

Santa Claus House (wikipedia.com)

Although the Santa Claus House of North Pole, Alaska is not the largest or most famous home of Santa Claus, it is the oldest and the best-known in the United States.  Located in the small suburban town of North Pole outside of Fairbanks, Alaska, the Santa Claus House has been in business since the early 1950s, besting most of its rivals in Canada and Scandinavia by decades.  Although the Santa Claus House receives many visitors annually, its real claim to fame is as a postage and shipping hub for letters and packages from Santa.  To the children of America, a letter postmarked from North Pole, Alaska is as good as it gets.

The Santa Claus House began life as a small trading post built by the now locally famous Miller family.  Over time, the house morphed from its original incarnation as a general store into a world-famous Christmas emporium.  The current building is a much larger Bavarian-like structure that replaced the original Santa Claus House.  Visitors to the House are greeted by an enormous four-story fiberglass Santa Claus figure, as well as a small home-grown herd of reindeer.

Resident Santa (wikipedia.com)

Resident Santa (wikipedia.com)

The interior of the Santa Claus House is the nerve center of the postage and shipping operation.  The Santa House doubles as the town of North Pole’s post office.  There is a wide variety of Christmas merchandise on sale, which can be shipped with genuine North Pole postmarks.  Of course, the favorite items by far are the ‘genuine’ Santa letters which are sent from here to countless children around the world every year.  According to their website, over a million such letters have been sent out since the House opened.  Periodically throughout the year Santa Claus holds court in the Santa Claus House.

The Santa Claus House is located twenty miles east of Fairbanks and approximately two-hundred miles northeast of Anchorage.  Visitors from outside Alaska are not particularly common.  The Santa Claus House is open January to Mid-April 10:00am-6:00pm (Saturdays) and noon-5:00pm (Sundays); Mid-April to Mid-May and Mid-September to October 10:00am-6:00pm (Mon-Sat) and Noon-6:00pm (Sundays); Mid-May to Mid-September 8:00am-8:pm (daily); November and December 10:00am-6:00pm (daily).  The House is closed on Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  There is no charge for admission.  Web: www.santaclaushouse.com (official website of the Santa Claus House)

Filed Under: Christmas Tagged With: US-Pacific Northwest

Where would you like to go?

Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

About Howard Kramer

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is a culmination of years of his work and passion.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

THE COMPLETE AMERICAN PILGRIM – NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

THE COMPLETE PILGRIM

Welcome to The Complete Pilgrim(TM)! This site, created by Howard Kramer, is a combination travel blog and online guide to the world's greatest sites of religious interest (with some historic and recreational places thrown in for good measure). All written content has been originally researched and produced and is provided free for public research and enjoyment. Thank you for visiting!

Site of the Week

WITTENBERG CASTLE CHURCH

WITTENBERG CASTLE CHURCH

Wittenberg, Germany The … [Read More...]

Friends of TCP Spotlight

5 PLACES TO VISIT IN HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA – MUSLIM TRAVEL ROCKS

5 PLACES TO VISIT IN HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA – MUSLIM TRAVEL ROCKS

by Glory Ali The City of Brotherly Love offers tons to see and do and get this, it’s FREE. That’s right you heard it right it’s FREE. Click here for complete article  

MOVING THE U.S. EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM – FAITH IN FAITHS

MOVING THE U.S. EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM – FAITH IN FAITHS

by Mary Neuhauser President Trump recently announced his intentions to move the United States Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, thereby recognizing Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel. The purpose of this article is to give you a brief overview of what this decision means and why it matters. Click here for […]

Photo of the Week

BASILICA OF ST. DENIS

Last month, I visited one of the most fascinating churches I have ever been to, the almost completely ignored Basilica of St. Denis in the northern suburbs of Paris.  Almost every French monarch is buried here, and almost nobody goes here.  Here are some pics I took:

Basilica of St. Denis

Tomb of Clovis

Tomb of Clovis

Tombs of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Tombs of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Tomb of Louis XIV The Sun King

Tomb of Louis XIV The Sun King

Royal Tombs

Royal Tombs

The Crypt

The Crypt

 

 

 

 

Follow us!

Where would you like to go?

Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

Contact Us

Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

Return to top of page
Copyright © 2023 The Complete Pilgrim, LLC || Marietta, GA 30068 || Legal Disclaimers

Website by: Kristina McInerny, Notes From Kris, Inc.