Elizabeth Babcock, maker of ‘the finest Santa suits in the world,’ going into Santa Claus Hall of Fame

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 December 2019 at 10:16 am

Courtesy of Santa Claus Hall of Fame

The International Santa Claus Hall of Fame announced today that an Albion woman will be inducted with the Class of 2019.

Elizabeth Babcock made Santa Claus suits at Christmas Park, which was run by Charles Howard, the founder of a Santa Claus school. After Howard’s death in 1966, Babcock continued the Santa suit business.

Howard was inducted in the Santa Claus Hall of Fame in 2010 (Click here for more about Howard from the Hall of Fame). He was one of the charter members. The Hall of Fame is located at Santa’s Candy Castle in Santa Claus, Indiana.

Babcock’s Hall of Fame inscription reads:

“For over thirty years, Elizabeth Babcock made Santa Claus Suits that were worthy of the Howard name. Before she took over the suit business, Elizabeth worked at Christmas Park for many years in many roles. When the suit business became available, she was the perfect person to keep the tradition going. Elizabeth knew business, book-keeping, customer service, and most importantly, she could sew.

“She never strayed from the original concepts of the suit and was loyal to the Howard philosophy to the end of her life. She made the finest Santa Claus Suits in the world. She used the finest materials. She sewed them to specification to keep the high standard. But the component she added that was the most important to the suit was … Elizabeth Babcock’s Santa Claus Suits were made with love. Elizabeth Babcock passed away in 2006 at the age of 92. She left behind her own legacy of integrity and quality for the sake of keeping Santa looking like he should.”

Babcock is one of 13 inductees in the Class of 2019. Click here to see more on all the new members of the Hall of Fame.

Photo by Tom Rivers: This Santa suit made by Babcock is on display at the Christmas Cottage in Lockport.

Babcock is the third person connected to Christmas Park to go into the Santa Claus shrine. After Howard was inducted in 2010, George Cond went into the Hall in 2016.

Cond, a Holley resident, was trained as a Santa by Charles Howard. Cond was so good at portraying Santa that Charles Howard embraced Cond to be the Santa at Christmas Park in Albion, Howard’s entertainment venue at Route 31 on Phipps Road. (Click here to see the Hall of Fame’s write-up on Cond.)

The International Santa Claus Hall of Fame is an ongoing project that celebrates, studies and preserves the historical documentation of the many men and women who have greatly contributed to the Legend of Santa Claus, the organization states on its website.

A 15-member Hall of Fame committee reviews the candidates and considers their overall career, service to their community, range of appearances, contribution to the Santa world, length of service, uniqueness of career, originality, and charity.

Profiles are reviewed with a point value in each standard. The top 21-point value profiles are submitted for a 1 through 21 percentage vote. Those candidates who receive 75 percent are elected to the International Santa Claus Hall of Fame.

Return to top