Santa’s Workshop (in Mariemont) is full of excited elves preparing everything for another magical, merry Christmas for boys and girls across the globe. They’ve opened their shop to allow visitors to get a peak at their preparations for Christmas. Visitors to Santa’s Workshop walk through 12 animated scenes and mail letters to Santa in the elves’ giant mailbox. Many Cincinnatians will recognize the
popular display – its origin dates to the Shillito’s Department Store display from the 1970s. More than 130 animated figures were crafted by hand by company employees and others to form 10 interior vignettes, seven storefront windows, and more than 20 other merchandising windows throughout the store. Each vignette featured a scene of elves in their North Pole workshop helping Santa build toys to deliver on Christmas Eve. The story begins with children dropping off their letters to Santa in an oversized mailbox and ends where Santa’s sleigh is loaded with toys to deliver on Christmas Eve. The vignettes were so popular, Shillito’s continued to display them every season, making slight changes to keep it new and exciting. Many of the children’s original letters are still preserved today.
