Ho! Ho! Ho! It鈥檚 that time of year, and the Comox Valley鈥檚 very own Santa and Mrs. C duo will be recording personalized video greetings and emailing them to believers in Canada and the U.S. very soon.
Steve and Carolyn Touhey, owners of Two Eagles Lodge, have partnered with Larrie and Marg Szafron, owners of Prestige Video Transfer, to create Dear Santa Video Greetings.
A portion of all video-greeting sales will be donated to the Comox Valley Child Development Association, a non-profit that both companies support via the telethon and other fund-raising efforts.
The idea for the video greetings started last year when the Touheys dressed up in costume as Santa and Mrs. C for a local event, and then decided to record and email a few personalized video greetings for some friends鈥� young children.
鈥淭he parents were so excited to show the emails to their kids, and the kids were amazed that Santa and Mrs. C knew so much about them鈥rom one doing well in wrestling and just winning a tournament to one who was not doing so well in school but received encouragement from Santa,鈥� Mrs. C said. 鈥淲hen we popped into the Courtenay BCAA office in costume to pick up our BCAA card, one of the staff members asked us for a photo with her for her grandchild. Instead, we offered to record a greeting on her iphone right on the spot. She was thrilled.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 when the idea of doing this more professionally hit us as a great holiday project and a way to also raise funds for a child-related charity. So, we called Larrie and Marg, and here we go."
Linda Graceffo of Sparkling Graphics also donated the artwork for the logo and promotional flier.
The website, www.DearSantaVideos.com, provides a form for parents or other 'elves' to complete that includes space for personal information about their believers. Instructions for submission are also included. Orders must be postmarked by Dec. 10 to allow time for production. For those preferring to order in person, Prestige Video Transfer will be at the Comox Mall Dec. 5 and 6.
Dear Santa Videos will email a link to the completed video along with an e-card to the email provided on the order form, so parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends can determine when to give the personalized greeting to their 'believer.'
While children are the main recipients of the videos, there have been requests to send some to adults. Santa and Mrs. C are happy to say 鈥淗o! Ho! Ho!鈥� to everyone.
To further spread the spirit, Santa and Mrs. C will also appear at several children's parties and at Mount Washington Dec. 22 and 24 posing for free photos.
