A headless Santa statue brings off-season smiles in View Royal

“Every time I drive it, I have a big smile on my face,” says View Royal resident James De Quadros, pointing to his vintage Land Rover Defender. The engine has the power of hundreds of horses, while his passenger is more accustomed to travelling with nine reindeer: a life-sized Santa Claus statue buckled into the seat beside him. De Quadros says Santa’s head falls off whenever he drives, so he has to put it back on each time they stop.

The statue came to be in the passenger seat after De Quadros and his sons dressed as Santa for Halloween. He says it was something he and the boys decided would be fun, and shows photos of the three in red-and-white, fur-lined outfits. They also decorated their home for the holidays and borrowed the statue from a friend. When De Quadros tried to move it, the head kept falling off. After brainstorming with his sons, they settled on having Santa cradle his head in his arm, which De Quadros says made it look a little more like Halloween.

Most of the rest of the celebration was Christmas-themed. They played Christmas music and handed out candy canes. De Quadros says the best part was hearing the children say, “Hi Santa!” It melted his heart.

On the drive to return the statue to his friend, De Quadros decided to spread a little more cheer. He thought of people who take a garden gnome around the world, so he brought Santa along the scenic route and took photos of the statue in random spots. They made about half a dozen stops, inspiring countless smiles along the way. “You have to look at things a little different, bring people together and have a laugh,” he says. After returning Santa to his friend’s front door, De Quadros took one final photo as a reminder that merry memories can be made in any season. “Life’s short,” he says, before putting Santa’s head back on his shoulders and adding, “You don’t need to wait for a special day to do something fun.”