With an Elf on a Shelf and old-fashioned advent calendars, kids can countdown to Christmas in a lot of ways.
Now there's a new one featuring the big guy himself: Santa Clothes: The Countdown to Christmas Doll.
The soft 18-inch doll comes with 12 articles of clothing, a clothesline and clothespins. Starting on December 12, one item of clothing is taken off of the line each day and added to Santa. By Christmas Eve, Saint Nick is fully dressed and ready for business.
"It’s the last two weeks," explained Andover entrepreneur Kevin Pierce, “when kids get really excited about Christmas and they ask how many days, how many days until Christmas. So, this really gives them a nice visual to see how many clothes are left.”
Kevin’s mother, Roberta, said dressing a Santa doll has been a tradition in the Pierce family for more than half a century. "It started with the kids driving me nuts, asking me how many days to Christmas, so I said to my husband, we need to come up with something, so they know how many days,” she said.
Their first version was admittedly a little simplistic, so the Pierces refined their initial concept a couple of times. Fast forward to today, and Kevin’s sunroom now look likes Santa’s workshop as dolls and boxes pile up.
"I was seeing other products come that had been kind of dancing around it. No one had done Santa,” said Kevin. “They are doing elves and now there’s a reindeer, and there are all these other things and I thought jeez, they’re missing the big picture. Let’s get Santa in this picture.”
This is Kevin’s first year as a self-employed businessman, with all the highs and lows that entails. He’s hoping that at $59.99, his doll can be a small investment that yields years of memories for other families.
“I decided it was time to take this tradition now that we’re all grown and to get this out in the world so other people could share it with their families,” added Kevin.