The Willow Glen Resident

Photograph by Lea Tauriello

Christmas Wishes: Nichol Robinson, right, tells Santa what she wants for Christmas as Elizabeth Tovar looks on. Santa stopped off at the historic Cozzens house on Minnesota Avenue last Saturday.

Santa Claus is coming to town

Historic mansion temporarily houses the famous first couple of Christmas

By Cecily Barnes

Forget driving to Valley Fair Mall to see Santa Claus this Christmas, because he's right here in Willow Glen. For the past three Saturdays, almost 200 parents and children have gathered in the lighted yard at 1195 Minnesota Ave. to sit on Santa's lap, whisper a Christmas wish in his ear and collect a candy cane from the rarely seen Mrs. Claus. The couple's last appearance will take place on Christmas Eve, before they shove off for a long night of dropping down chimneys.

Beneath an itchy beard and large black boots, Mr. Claus recently confided to The Resident that he is actually Tony Ornellas, and Mrs. Claus is his wife, Paulette. The real Santa Claus, they say, is at the North Pole prepping for the big night. Tony and Paulette temporarily took over the elfin couple's duties as a gift to the Willow Glen community. Paulette also sits on the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association board.

For the second year in a row, the Ornellases have turned their front yard into a miniature North Pole, necklaced in dazzling lights, topiary animals and red poinsettias. Their well-crafted yard displays groomed pathways, plastic elves, wreaths, a fountain and an orange tree. Besides helping out the Big Guy, Tony and Paulette Ornellas say fixing up their yard is a fun holiday activity.

"We have no kids; that's one reason we do it," Tony Ornellas said. "And we do it for Willow Glen. Last week we handed out 250 canes in two hours. Cars were lined up from here all the way down the street."

The Christmas production began nine years ago when Tony Ornellas decided to throw a strand of lights on the outside of the couple's historic Willow Glen home, also called the Cozzens mansion. The next year, Ornellas climbed to his rooftop and propped up a gigantic lighted star. The following Christmas, he decked his deck with lights and shaped a reindeer from grapevine wire and bushes.

"I just got carried away more and more every year," Ornellas said. "I started getting into topiaries and made an elephant, giraffe, eagle, ostrich and bear."

One year when returning from a Christmas party dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus, the Ornellases stopped in front of their magnificently lighted home and handed candy canes to children passing by. The couple had so much fun that they decided to make it a tradition. "Last year we decided to set up a little chair out there so the kids could sit on my lap and tell me what they want for Christmas," Ornellas said. "More and more people are getting to know about the decorations so they come from all over."

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