TOLEDO, Ohio — You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout and here's why: Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus are in town!
WTOL 11 learned that the Point Place Mr. and Mrs. Claus, joined by some helpers, will be riding around town on a specially-made holiday float for the next two weeks until Christmas Day, handing out treats for good kids in the area.
Since Point Place Santa and Mrs. Claus live in town, they're going by aliases to blend in.
Mr. Claus goes by "Duane Hughes," who was invited by Mrs. Claus, aka "Tami Mentel," to join her on the Point Place/Shoreland Holiday Float this year.
"I'm just glad I got asked," Hughes said. "This is a lot of fun."
The pair have been spreading some Christmas cheer to the kids in Point Place and loving it.
"Hearing the, 'Here comes Santa Claus! He's really here!' It just brings so much joy to myself and to my husband, as we do this," Mentel said.
Tami and her husband Jeffery Mentel have been hosting Christmas floats since 2005. Tami said every year Jeffery has found a way to make the float bigger and bigger. This year Jeffery put in over 100 man hours.
The two-part, 55-foot trailer has exactly 19,000 Christmas lights, nine inflatables and a 12-foot tall Ferris wheel.
All this work is done out of the Mentel's own pockets. Tami Mentel said the pair regret nothing.
"It's just a way for us to give back to our community, because our community is such a wonderful community," Mentel explained.
Children who catch the Point Place Santa and Mrs. Claus riding up and down town will see them handing out candy canes and stuffed toys.
"Their excitement when I finally turn and see them in a window and wave, they get more excited and wave even more," Hughes said. "I've gotten lots of yelling for me and some pretty good hugs too. It's been a lot of fun."
Last year the Mentels were not able to invite Santa to join them due to COVID. But to keep the spirit of Christmas alive, they decided to tell kids that Mrs. Claus was taking over that year and Mr. Claus was back at the North Pole making sure that all the elves behaved.
"This year Santa and Mrs. Claus are teaming up together to bring Christmas cheer," Mentel said.
To make sure everyone got good gifts, WTOL 11 asked for advice on how they can keep coal out of our stockings this year and it was pretty simple.
"Listen to your adults, stay in school, stay out of trouble," Hughes said. "Should get some pretty nice stuff in your stockings."
"Come experience the joy with us and just get that spark of Christmas back if you've lost it," Mentel added.
The Point Place/Shoreland Holiday Float has a Santa tracker app to help everyone find where Santa and Mrs. Claus will be. Thursday through Sunday, the float will be out and about 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The float will also be out Dec. 21-24.
These holiday float events are free to the public. The Mentels pay for all of the toys and candy out of their own pockets. To help lessen some of the financial strain, there is a fundraiser page on the float's Facebook.