By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

An inflatable Santa Claus who stands 40 feet tall, ordered on a whim, brings joy to its owner and the denizens of people who drive past to see it.

Robbie Reidy, who lives south of Hope, was searching online for a snowman inflatable to put in his yard when an ad for the ginormous Santa popped up.

He decided to order the huge Santa instead of a snowman.

“Go big or go home,” Reidy said. “We ordered it and it showed up four or five days later.”

The transit time was brief considering the Santa was made in China.

After putting Santa up with help from relatives, Reidy gets joy out of seeing so many people stop to take photos and chat with him about the spectacular sight.

“You can see him for about a mile around,” Reidy said. “I’m sitting on a little creek, so you have to be up a little high to see him.”

The Santa dwarfs his two-story house. People want to know about it, Reidy said.

“I’m having enjoyment seeing people enjoy it,” Reidy said.

This year is the first time in many he has decorated outside his house, Reidy said.

While he enjoys the attention Santa gets, Reidy said he really didn’t expect word to spread so fast on social media and bring so many visitors.

“I didn’t think it was going to be quite that big,” he said.

Although he plans to leave Santa up until after the first of the year, he’s not sure what to do next Christmas season.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do to top it,” he said. “Once you entertain the public, you got to keep going.”