A Christmas Miracle – George Carpenter’s Giant Santa

Many Oceanside residents, and perhaps many people in Southern California, will remember the giant Santa Claus erected each year at a home in South Oceanside. To the delight of children and the young at heart, the home at 1741 South Clementine was arrayed in what could be described as Christmas Spirit “overload”. But this abundance of holiday joy came from the mind, heart and creativity of one man: Oceanside resident George Carpenter.

George Carpenter and his wife Gladys came from Pennsylvania where they owned a donut shop. The couple had five daughters, Georgina, Pamela, Yvonne, Robin and Jodie. George, a civil service employee at Camp Pendleton, was inspired to purchase his home on South Clementine Street because of its large yard. He had already imagined a “grandiose” display that he planned to set up that Christmas.

George began in about 1968, with a rather modest display. He purchased what was described as a “dilapidated” wooden Nativity scene with a choir, along with Santa and his reindeer. He spent a great deal of time carefully refurbishing, repairing and painting each figure. The Carpenter’s Christmas exhibit was admired by the neighborhood but George wanted to go bigger. Each year he added not one, but several items. He captured the imagination and attention of hundreds and then thousands of people as the menagerie of characters and scenes exploded in his front and backyard. The inside of the Carpenter home was just as filled with holiday spirit and there was no denying George’s love of everything Christmas.

In 1972 George had to have the power company put in a special line to handle all the extra voltage for his ever-growing display which included a life-size ice skater, a snow skier, and a quacking duck in an ice pond. The rear of the house featured several large religious scenes beginning with the birth of Jesus, a host of angels and other Christian symbols. The house was decorated front to back, from the rooftop to nearly every available space in the surrounding yard. When he purchased a boat for his display, the salesman asked him if he was going fishing. George responded, “No, it’s for Santa Claus.”

George outdid himself in 1973 with a 22-foot, 1200-pound motorized Santa Claus on his front lawn. It was an unbelievable sight and created so much traffic that an Oceanside police officer had to be assigned to the corner of Whaley and South Clementine Streets. It took nearly 10 months to construct the giant Santa which could wink, nod and wave. “Super Santa” was constructed by Larry Hill of Carlsbad. It was made of fiberglass, wood and papier-mâché. George got the idea for the giant Chris Kringle just after Christmas in 1972, and began looking for someone to build it. The local newspaper reported that “Carpenter didn’t disclose what it cost” but it was noted he couldn’t do “another one for less than $4000.” (He later had another Santa built, but it was thinner. His daughters protested “skinny Santa” in favor of the original.)

The country was going through an energy crisis in 1973 and citizens were asked to conserve energy, which included no erection of outdoor Christmas lights. The electricity that it took to light and animate the Carpenter display was more than the average household used on a normal day or week.

George wrote an editorial in the Oceanside Blade Tribune newspaper, asking residents to call him with their opinion as to if he should continue his Christmas exhibition in light of the energy shortage. He received about 50 telephone calls, along with a few visits, all of whom said they approved of his display and urged him to continue. “Some said they couldn’t wait,” Carpenter reported. However, there was one grinch, an elderly woman while out walking her dog past the Carpenter home told George she was against turning on the lights.

One of the local firemen, who helped to erect George’s giant Santa, voiced his support saying, “I’m really glad he’s doing this. I think it’s ridiculous that no one is supposed to have Christmas lights outside anymore when there’s used car lots and supermarket parking lots are all lit up over town.”

With the ratio of one objection to 50 in favor, Carpenter went forward but not before writing to President Richard M. Nixon, sending photos and asking for “permission” to continue his display, along a personal invitation for the President to visit. He actually received a response from the President’s Special Assistant, David N. Parker politely sending his regrets. George noted that the President did not discourage him, so in spite of the call to conserve energy went ahead with his display but restricted the hours of operation to do his part in conservation.

In addition to the giant Santa Claus, who could be seen for blocks, Carpenter erected other animated scenes which included life-size skiers and skaters; a 6-foot boat towed by dolphins (which spouted water!); and Snoopy on a surfboard. While the images now seem a bit “unsophisticated”, today we can purchase pre-made items for our yards, or simply shop online. Manufactured figures and reindeer are available in nearly every retail store, but this was long before such things were mass produced. George Carpenter’s display was largely built by hand and there was nothing else like it. It was described by many as “Disneyland.” In 1974 the attraction brought over 5000 viewers in two weeks.

George added more to his holiday wonderland in 1975, including a Ferris wheel, a moving train and toboggan riders. Gladys Carpenter told the Pendleton Scout that year, “It’s a 365 day a year project” and a “labor of love.” “Labor because it is so much work to do it and love because he loves doing it.” George did it all to delight his children and the people who lined the streets to see it.

The Carpenter daughters can attest to how much work it was because each year, beginning in October, they were enlisted to help. As their father dug post holes, set up fencing and planned layouts for his elaborate scenes, they began rolling out miles of polyester batting that served as snow covering the roof, yards and walkways. Boyfriends were also expected to help with the setting up of the many pieces in the ever-growing Christmas collection. Firemen from the South Oceanside’s Fire Station on South Ditmar Street came over to help hoist up the 1200-pound giant Santa Claus.

George would talk to children through his giant Santa by a speaker he had hidden, asking them what they wanted for Christmas. It was all so magical and the crowds grew. People came from all over as newspapers carried the story of the 22-foot Santa and the wonderful Christmas house.

The family started a series of guestbooks, asking visitors to sign in, giving their address and/or city and any comments they would like to add which included El Cajon, San Clemente, Leucadia, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside and Poway. There were others from out of state including Oregon, Florida, New York and Utah. In 1976 Ethel Pierson wrote, “Worthwhile coming out from Ohio to see this marvelous display.” Another wrote, “What a lovely Christmas gift. We all, young and old, alike, enjoy this wonderland.” Someone added, “So there really is a Santa Claus!!” Some children took to writing their Christmas wish lists in the guest books for Santa to read.

Sometimes visitors felt compelled to donate after viewing the grand exhibit; a kind gesture for sure, but it amounted to a nominal amount each year. George didn’t do it for money, but he once won $50 for “the best decorated lawn” which didn’t begin to cover his electricity bill. He did mention he would love to receive a trophy, but said, “The real enjoyment I get out of it is sitting in the house and watching the people’s reactions, young and old. They love it and for at least a few moments, their lives are a lot happier.”

George continued his oversized Santa display through 1977. He had run out of room (and perhaps energy) to store it all. In 1978 the huge Santa was set up at the Mission San Luis Rey where it was all but destroyed by a heavy storm. That might have been the end of George’s Santa, but the memories remain.

The Carpenter daughters still reminisce of their beloved father and his devotion to Christmas. Even though they tired of the weekends they had to spend setting up the lights, fake snow and figures, it was time well spent with their dad whom they adored.

By sharing their photos and memories with the Oceanside Historical Society they are keeping their father’s love for Christmas alive.

As a lasting tribune, the daughters erected a stone plaque in their father’s memory where the Carpenter house and the giant Santa once stood, with the permission of a good-hearted homeowner.

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” Charles Dickens