The Santa Chair

The Channel Islands farmers market contacted us to build a “Santa chair” for their holiday events. They wanted an ornate chair for their parade, and it needed to be sturdy enough to use for many years. Spencer is passionate about woodworking and has built many intricate and unique items; I was surprised to learn that he had never built a chair.  We were both excited about the project.

We immediately started our homework and researched various Santa chair styles. After consulting with our client, they gave us general guidelines, but left us with room for our own creativity.            

Our plan was to build the chair to look great and be comfortable for Santa while at the same time sturdy enough to withstand lots of transportation back and forth between events and storage. We designed the chair to be wide enough to accommodate a portly Santa and 2 children. 

The frame was constructed with stout cedar fence posts and decorative wheels were added. The measurements were all based on a 6 foot tall St. Nick. Once the basic frame was built, we started prettying it up. Bead board backing was added to create a fancy style to the chair.

Comfort was also an issue as Santa would be sitting in his chair for hours at a time. We made the seat shallower than a standard chair so Santa could lean back, extra wide arms, and a cushy foam seat covered  with a durable black velvet fabric. We shaped and affixed a large “SANTA” sign atop of the chair, which gave it a holiday throne appearance.

After several rounds of sanding and multiple coats of holiday color we were proud of our completed project and were sure out client would love it. Once delivered, they were very excited and could not wait to show it off  in their holiday parade.  One of the office staff even commented that they wanted one for their house that said "King"!

Completed Santa Chair