Santa House provides genuine Christmas experience

By: 
Luke Reimer
Reporter

One local family has turned the Valhalla Hillside Inn, W13264 State Highway 29, Bowler, into Santa’s House for the Christmas season.

Owner Lori Mathwich, with the assistance of her husband, children and parents, has decorated the Valhalla Inn and turned into a destination for families to kick off their holiday celebrations. When arriving at the bed and breakfast, guests are asked to park close to the bottom of the driveway, as they will then be welcomed by a quarter-mile tractor ride through various decorations and lights, before reaching the Valhalla Inn.

“You come up here, you get to go in the house, and you get to see Santa Claus,” said Mathwich. “I always wanted to have the Hallmark house at Christmas. I want it to have a realistic feel in here.”

Visitors are treated to hot chocolate and cookies with Mrs. Claus and her elves, before children are greeted with reindeer sightings. Guests can book a half-hour time slot at Santa’s House for $10 per child. Children who are 2 years old and younger are free. A group of four is priced down to $25. Moving forward, Santa’s House will be hosting groups on Dec. 16, Dec. 18 and Dec. 23.

“You don’t want everybody showing up at the same time,” said Mathwich. “If you are going to come this far, I want them to have their own time with Santa. People book in time slots and have their own time.”

“We are trying to get $10 a kid,” she continued. “We are trying to keep it cheap as possible to cover the costs and get the money to charity.”

The funds donated to Mathwich’s Santa House go back into the community. This year, all of the proceeds are going to the Sacred Heart Catholic School playground renewal project. Mathwich said that hosting this event is her family’s way of shining a little light into the world.

“This is my way to give back,” said Mathwich. “I think it is our time to give back. There is so much negativity in this world, so this is our way of bringing positivity around the holiday season.”

Spreading Christmas joy while supporting the community is an important part of why Mathwich continues to host this event. She and her husband, who are both retired members of the United States Army National Guard, saw poverty firsthand while traveling to other nations during their time in the service. Seeing children and their families who have nothing around the holidays also helped inspire this idea, she said.

“I think that we are just lucky in the country,” said Mathwich. “Especially being deployed in countries like Guatemala and Nicaragua, I saw that they have nothing. So if we can give back and take care of our own country, why don’t we?”

Mathwich reiterated that the Santa’s House entry fee is a suggested donation. “I had a family call and say that their house burned down, and that they still wanted to come. I am not going to say no to anyone,” Mathwich said, when talking about pricing. “We hope you bring the donation of $10, but if you don’t, we understand. We just want you to enjoy Christmas.”


lreimer@newmedia-wi.com