LONGVIEW, Texas — Santa stole the show at Carmela's Magical Santa Land.
Santa said, “It's just the kids. I mean, I'm Santa. The smiles- the look in their eye. It's beautiful.”
The fantasy land officially opens on Friday but Thursday night was reserved for something special, a designated time for children with special needs to enjoy the holiday views, food and company with no interruptions.
Carmela Davis, the woman behind it all says her set up is her pride and joy. She’s been working on this year’s display since May.
Davis said, “You'll see that some stuff is not your traditional Christmas things like the cancer area. That's because I've suffered from cancer and so has almost every single person. Either they know somebody or they've had it.”
The wonderland is 5 years old. It’s lucky to have survived the pandemic and Davis said so is she.
Davis explained, “Well, last year after my accident here, the food trailer door crushed me and shattered my pelvis. It broke all my bones- broke my hand, etc. It was hard to come back out here. But again, when you see people and they tell you how much they like it, and for some people, this is all the Christmas they get.”
Some may say early November is a little early for these festivities, but after the year she’s had, Davis says two things are always in season- gratitude and the Christmas spirit.
Carmela's Magical Santa land opens tomorrow and will run until January 5th- every night rain or shine.