Rows upon rows of Santa Clauses in different outfits and in varied sizes can be found in this local ‘Santa’s workshop’ as well as collectible Christmas houses that bring in the holiday cheer. (Photo by PINGGOT ZULUETA)

Christmas only happens once a year, but if you take to heart its incredible magic, then the spirit of Christmas could last you the whole year. This is the case for entrepreneurial couple Antonio “Tony” and Jo Santos, owners of the Christmas Factory.

Situated at the corner of A.H. Lacson and F. Jhocson Streets in Sampaloc, Manila, the Christmas Factory is a huge shrine for Santa Claus—with decorations ranging from a six-foot tall Santa Claus gesturing “Shh!”, a somewhat serious Santa reading a book while perched on a swing, and a playful Santa hanging on a parachute to name a few.

With so many Santa decors, you’d swear you could almost hear the jolly old man’s cheery “Ho, ho, ho!” livening up the place.

The Santos’ business started in 1998 when Jo began making papier-mâché pieces of Santa Claus. She did it as a hobby, and her early creations were for the Santos family to use as decorations or give as gifts. But neighbors and friends loved her pieces so much, that they insisted on buying. Her husband remembers how Jo would scour different places just so she could get varied raw materials for her Santa Clauses. “Then, she would paint all the pieces by herself,” he adds.

Even her one-of-a-kind designs of Christmas wreaths were bought by friends for only R50 each back then. “Habang gumagawa siya, ‘yung customer nakaabang na sa tabi niya, bibilhin na agad ‘yung mga ginagawa niya!” her husband relates.

Jo shares that she would dutifully make her pieces during summer. And even though some of her family members and friends would laugh at her for making them months away from Christmas, she would not mind because she just adores doing so.

Eventually, Jo began making more designs of Santa Claus and finding ways to further her craft. The more figures Jo made, the more people bought, and the business became so big that the couple decided to give up their school bus business for San Beda College (which they have been doing for 23 years) and concentrate fully on the Santa Claus-making business.

“We would talk about why we got into the Santa Claus business in the first place, and we figured that we liked the symbol of Santa Claus, because he represents the symbol of giving,” shares Tony. “And it’s such a happy feeling because we get the longest celebration of Christmas here in the Philippines.”

Every year, the Christmas Factory comes out with new designs, as it wants to provide their staunch clientele with wonderful additions to their collections. “We once made a figure of the true image of Santa Claus, and he looked like a priest. Naging mabili naman siya sa mga collector,” he tells.

“If you’ll notice, we use two kinds of materials for our Santa Clauses. Some pieces are made of fiber glass and the others are papier-mâché,” says Tony. Naturally, the papier-mâché pieces are more affordable than the fiber glass, and customers can already go home with an original Christmas Factory design for only P20.

Because of Jo’s hobby, the Santos family now has a total of three factories, plus around 40 people working for them during peak season. “It’s such a gratifying feeling for us to provide jobs to 40 people. Masarap ang pakiramdam namin kasi nakakapagbigay kami ng kasiyahan sa ibang tao at nakakatulong din naman kami sa kanila,” says Tony.

Surely, what separates the Christmas Factory from other Christmas decor manufacturing firms is its genuine passion to make people feel and realize the true spirit of the holidays. While some may have churning out thick wads of cash as their guiding philosophy, Jo and Tony’s mantra is to wholeheartedly share their blessings to other people. “Even after five years, we’d still repaint our customers’ decor and labor is free of charge,” he attests. “At pati mga customer namin, nagiging kaibigan namin.”

At the end of the day, Jo and Tony have only this to say: “Sana lahat tayo makapagbigay sa kapwa. Ang laking bagay na ‘yun!”

Santa would be so proud.

The Christmas Factory is located at 565 A.H. Lacson cor. F. Jhocson Sts. Sampaloc, Manila. Store hours are from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday to Sunday. For more information, please visit www.christmasfactory.com.ph. You can also call them at 740-8592 or e-mail them at santaclaus@christmasfactory.com.ph.