VIEW ROYAL, B.C. — “Every time I drive it, I have a big smile on my face,” says James De Quadros, pointing to his vintage Land Rover Defender. While the engine in his vehicle has the power of hundreds of horses, his passenger is more accustomed to travelling with just nine reindeer. “Every time I drive around, his head falls off,” James says, picking up the head of the life-sized Santa Claus statue that’s buckled up in the seat beside him. “So basically, I have to put it on whenever we stop.” To appreciate why Santa’s in his passenger seat now, we need to go back to when James and his kids all wore Claus costumes for Halloween. “This is something that the boys and I talked about being a fun thing to do,” James says with a smile, before showing photos of the trio in their red-and-white, fur-lined outfits. They also decided to decorate their house like the holidays and borrowed the Santa statue from a friend. “But when I picked it up and tried to move it, the head kept falling off,” James says. So, after James and his sons did some brainstorming, they settled on this head-holding solution. “Santa has his head (cradled) in his arm,” James says. “That way it looks a bit more Halloween.” Because everything else was mostly like Christmas. “We had Christmas music. I gave out candy canes. And the best part, the kids said, ‘Hi Santa!’” James says. “It just melted my heart.” So, on his way to return the statue to the friend he borrowed it from, James decided to spread even more cheer. “I thought about the people that would steal a garden gnome and take the gnome around the world,” James says. Instead, James took Santa along the scenic route his friend’s house and took pictures of the statue in random places along the way. Making half a dozen stops, they inspired countless smiles along the way. “You have to look at things a little different, bring people together and have a laugh,” James says. And after returning Santa to his friend’s front door, James took one final photo as a reminder that you can make merry memories no matter the season. “Life’s short,” James says, before propping Santa’s head back on his shoulders on last time. “You don’t need to wait for a special day to something fun.”
