LYNN — Lynn Classical teacher Michael Curley and his wife Melissa have been playing the role of Santa and Mrs. Claus during the holiday season since 2020.
As Christmas in 2020 approached, Curley and his wife thought about how sad it was that children wouldn’t be able to take pictures with Santa that year.
The couple, who live in Wilmington, began brainstorming a solution to this, trying to figure out a way to let kids see Santa and take pictures with him even though social distancing, mask wearing, and gathering in large groups wasn’t allowed at the time.
They came up with an idea and posted about it in their community’s Facebook page, asking if anyone would be interested, and received great feedback.
Curley and his wife went out and bought a festive backdrop to put up against their garage so they could host socially distanced photos with Santa in their driveway. Curley, who had dressed up as Santa a few times in the past for friends and family parties, would take that role on again.
“Families would come by and I wore a face shield,” Curley said. “We were trying to do whatever we could.”
The Curley’s decided they wouldn’t charge for the photos, but asked people to donate if they could to local causes in need.
“We don’t want to say to anyone who can’t afford it that they don’t have access to Santa,” Curley said.
That first year, they took photos in their driveway with about 50 families and raised more than $2,000.
They’ve since expanded from their driveway to hosting picture-taking events at locations in Wilmington and Lynn, hosting breakfasts with Santa, and posing as Santa and Mrs. Claus for tree lightings.
Last year, they raised about $7,000, donating some of that to the Concerned Citizens of Lynn and a Christmas program at Classical where teachers buy presents for kids in need.
“We are just trying to raise money at a time of year when people are in need, especially this year with inflation,” Curley said. “The more we can do, the better.”
This year’s festivities kicked off for the Curley’s last weekend, hosting picture-taking events at Tremezzo restaurant in Wilmington and at the Lynn Teachers Union Building on Western Avenue. Tremezzo restaurant has partnered with the Curley’s for years and allows them to use some of their space for photos whenever they need to.
Last year, the Lynn Teachers Union joined in on the fun, donating their space to Curly for one day, but this year they donated it for three days, so if you missed the photos with Santa this past weekend, there’s still time. Curley will also be at the Lynn Teachers Union building on Nov. 27 and Dec. 4.
To sign up, you need to join the Facebook group called “The Blue House Santa Project.” The reason behind the name of this soon-to-be nonprofit is that the Curley’s live in a blue house.
Appointments are every 15 minutes per family.
“You come in, you take the photos, you own the photos, and then you can donate whatever you want,” Curley said. “There’s no set donation and we don’t ask for a specific amount. We did pictures with a teddy bear once and had some people donate $500 for a session. People are incredibly generous at this time of year and we’re really very fortunate that we’ve figured out a way to tap into this.”
This year, they’ve increased the number of appointments available each day to 20 to match the increasing demand, offering photos from 9 a.m to 2 p.m.
Curley is also in the process of setting up home visits on Christmas Eve for those who want photos with Santa that night.
“We’re going to try to bring some more joy to people on Christmas Eve,” Curley said. “We just try to figure out how we can do more for more people.”
This year, they expect to have about 200 appointments, but will be taking more photos at various events. In December, the Curley’s will ride on a firetruck into Belmont and Wilmington to turn on the town’s Christmas trees and take photos.
“During Belmont last year, there were about 3,000 people and we must’ve taken close to 400 photos,” Curley said. “It’s been a fun journey. It’s such an experience.”
The Curley’s just filed the 501c3 paperwork to be recognized as an official nonprofit, with Melissa (who Curley says is the brains behind the operation) as the president, Curley the treasurer and one of their friends as the secretary.
Reflecting on the past few years hosting “The Blue House Santa Project”, Curley said he and his wife are amazed at how far it has come, how fun it has been, and how much they’ve been able to raise for local causes.
“We thought that maybe we could just help a few people in the driveway, and then people came. It just got bigger and bigger. This year, I think we’re going to give back $10,000,” Curley said. “It’s grown exponentially. People know that we’re doing it for the right reasons and they’re just really taken to it. We’re incredibly lucky and we’re just trying to get the word out to do more good.”
Allysha Dunnigan can be reached at [email protected].
