The holiday season may be well over, but Santa Joe is still spreading the Christmas spirit wherever he goes. Wearing a red long-sleeve shirt with white printed reindeer on the sleeves, the jolly 67-year-old maintains his bushy white beard and holiday cheer to remind everyone — from children to adults — that the season of giving extends well beyond December.

“Christmas needs to be year-round,” he said. “You listen and try to be a positive influence. That’s what I do on a daily basis.”

It’s through positive words and community service that Santa Joe continues to share the Christmas spirit. In the “off-season,” Santa Joe is found doing what he can to give back to the community. He works with The Resource Exchange, a community-centered board that helps children and adults with disabilities. Santa Joe ran sober houses for 20 years to help addicts and alcoholics. He even takes veterans out on his boat and teaches them to hunt and fish.

“The more we can do to help each other and share your experience, strength, and hope with people — that’s the key,” he said.

In addition to all his community work, Santa Joe went to school for vocational teaching. He has a background in bodywork, welding, and woodworking and uses those skills to fix old cars, repair broken items and make yard art. He even fixed up the painted vehicle he rides around in as Santa, an unmistakable vintage bus with Christmas lights and a big image of Santa painted on the side.

If a child sees him out and about, he’s sure to smile and wink to make their day.

“I’m building houses for the elves!” he says when they ask what he’s doing out shopping during the summer. “I’m fixing the toilets and sprinkler systems while they build the toys.”

At restaurants, he’ll give children a marble, a bell, or whatever he has in his pocket that day, all in the hopes of keeping the magic alive.

Santa Joe aims to bring out the kid in everyone, even adults. In his 26 years of professionally being Santa, the oldest person that sat on his lap was 104 years old.

“It was a blessing for me to be there and bring that little kid out of them for just a little bit,” he said. “Bring some hope and some faith that things are going to get better.”

This year, Santa Joe focused on sharing faith. In November, Furniture Row called and told him they weren’t doing Santa visits this year because of the pandemic. So, Santa Joe and his team got creative. He set up an outdoor meet-and-greet area outside Santa’s “summer home” in Old Colorado City and invited one and all to visit. Nearly 800 families came to see him in 13 days.

“Usually, we have about a 35-to-40-day time period,” he said. “This year, we had to wait until the last minute … and I took a few days off because it was bitter cold!”

Despite the cold, Santa Joe persevered to bring a sense of normalcy — and a little bit of magic — to kids in the area. With his wife, Jan (Mrs. Claus), and others helping direct traffic and take photos, he said this year, they made it a positive and memorable experience for all the families.

“One man can make a difference,” he said. “This year proves that I’ve made a difference.”

Santa Joe’s pure generosity and kindness can be felt by anyone that meets him, including Rosie Gigax. A grandmother of 10, she has been taking her grandchildren to see Santa Joe since 2004.

“He gives people a real sense of love and hope and makes people feel that they’re valued,” she said. “He’s a phenomenal person in every way … it’s truly his calling.”

Gigax admires Santa Joe’s dedication to spreading kindness. One year, he came to her house the day after Christmas and read The Night Before Christmas while her family gathered by the fireplace. Her grandchildren couldn’t come for Christmas this year, so she set a time with Santa Joe to Zoom with them.

“He is so real and talks about being good and being kind,” she said. “The way he speaks to children about that kind of stuff is so important.”

Thirty years ago, Santa Joe wouldn’t have expected to be wearing a red reindeer-clad shirt year-round. But he is now, and he feels blessed to be able to share his spirit with others. Gigax said his love for being Santa shines through in the way he interacts with others.

“He doesn’t expect anything for what he does because he loves it,” Gigax said. “He gives people a real sense of love and hope … he’s really the spirit of Christmas.”