The small town of Pocatello, Idaho, has its own real-life Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus. They are Steven “Grizz” Andrews and his wife, Sue. The couple was known as Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus for 27 years and in the year 2021, good karma finally came for them.
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That year, before the holiday season started, Grizz and Sue got a visit from a local news crew. They wanted to feature the couple’s story and had the mission to repay the generosity that Grizz and Sue had shown to the community over the years.
How it all started
But how did Grizz and Sue start off as Idaho’s Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus? It all started in 1994. That time, Theo Anderson was the resident Santa Claus. However, Theo was forced to give up the role when he discovered he had pancreatic cancer.
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Grizz was Theo’s best friend and he took over the role that Theo has been playing it ever since. A few years after giving up the role of the town’s resident Santa, Theo passed away. Grizz believes that Theo had been watching him over the years.
Time to bring in the Mrs.
In an interview with East Idaho News, Grizz said, “I’m sure Theo up in heaven is looking down and laughing every time I go do Santa Claus because I really didn’t want to start doing this. Had he not helped me so much in my life, I probably wouldn’t have done it.”
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Everything started out as just a favor but soon, Grizz discovered that he was a perfect match for the job. When he started out, he was a solo talent. It was not later on in the late 1990s that Grizz had the idea to involve Sue as Mrs. Santa Claus
Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus
With the real-life couple now acting as the official Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus of the town, there was a more festive cheer when the holidays kicked in. They showed up in almost every holiday event not only in their town but also in other towns in Idaho.
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Although it was hard work, Sue had no regrets about joining her husband in playing this important holiday role. In an interview with East Idaho News, Sue said, “This is the present. This is why we do this together – it’s a present we give to each other.”
Moving to Pocatello
When the whole thing started, Grizz and Sue were residing in Blackfoot. They did their gig as Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus for a good decade before the couple decided to move to Pocatello to be closer to their children and grandchildren.
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So in 2009, they relocated to Pocatello and started to continue building up their reputations as the real-life Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus in their new hometown. It was a new start for the couple but they had no problem establishing themselves in Pocatello.
Their first gig
Having just moved in, Sue and Grizz had their first gig as Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus at Gate City Elementary. Their granddaughter attends this school and although she recognized her grandparents, she promised not to reveal their real identity to her classmates.
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Sue and Grizz was a hit during the school visit that word spread over the town. The couple did not only look the part but they also had the right jolly and kind nature that one would expect from Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus.
Costco staple
After several school and hospital visits, the Christmas couple bagged a gig at the Pocatello branch of Costco. The pair became a staple of the popular retail outlet ever since. Every December, you would expect to see Grizz and Sue at Costco, dishing out their peppermint balls and festive goodwill.
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Sue and Grizz became so in demand that their yearly bulk purchase of the peppermint balls came to an impressive 240 pounds. Although their choice of sweets remained to be consistent, the people who received them changed constantly.
Making their mark in the community
One perk of the job is that the couple gets to see how the families in town grow every year. Sue and Grizz get to see teenagers that they met the first years they moved into town to have kids of their own.
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Aside from the peppermint balls, Sue and Grizz were a Christmas couple that had more in mind than just giving sweets to the young ones. They also make sure they give something of substance to the young community.
Educating the young ones
During a school visit in Montpelier, Grizz as Santa explained how he was able to journey across the world in just one night using Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. The sixth-grade science teacher was so impressed that Grizz educated her class in a very entertaining way.
For audiences that were too young to understand Einstein’s work, Grizz and Sue found ways to engage and educate at the same time. Sue would often read out the most festive children’s books to their younger audiences.
The multi-talented Mrs. Claus
In fact, Sue even has written out a few children’s stories of her own. Sue is multi-talented. She not only does a good job of impersonating Mrs. Claus but she also writes stories and does the illustrations for her own Christmas stories for kids.
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In one of her stories, she writes about how reindeer can fly in the sky with the help of candy canes. Sue said that she loved her role as Mrs. Claus because it gives her a chance to escape into a different world. This has helped stoked her creative streak as a writer.
Skipping a year
Unfortunately, Pocatello residents experienced an unexpected change. For the first time in a long time, Sue and Grizz were not able to fulfill their usual holiday duties in 2021. The couple began suffering from health problems.
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Grizz and Sue may not have been able to bring Christmas cheer to the residents of Pocatello in 2021 but the residents of Pocatello decided to bring Christmas cheer to them. With the help of the East Idaho News team, they were able to give Grizz and Sue a wonderful and heartwarming surprise.
A lovely introduction
Reporter Nate Eaton started off his feature piece on the couple by explaining who Grizz was. He revealed that Grizz was a generous guy who has helped the less fortunate in the community for the past years.
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He went on to explain that Grizz was well-known as a good Samaritan in the community all year long. But it is his and his wife’s roles as Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus that the people of Pocatello loved the most.
Sharing sad news
The viewers then get to see photos of Grizz and Sue in their holiday outfits. Nate then revealed that for all the years that the couple played their roles, they never accepted payments for their goodwill visits. It was at this point that Nate revealed some sad news.
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The reason why Grizz and Sue skipped playing their holiday roles that year was that Grizz was diagnosed with cancer. The treatment that Grizz had been getting to fight cancer off left him too sick to play his role as Santa.
The surprise visit
Nate revealed that he was about to surprise Grizz and Sue with a gift that was donated by someone from the community who wished to remain anonymous. The reporter then continued to say that this was not an ordinary gift.
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When Nate and his team came knocking on the door, Grizz was reluctant at first to let a bunch of strangers film him in his house. But after Nate explained who he is and that they came in peace, Grizz eventually allowed the cameras to enter his house.
Ambush interview
The news team had been commenting on how unique Grizz’s home was when Sue came into the shot. As she stood by her husband, Nate explained to them that they were doing an interview for the local news station.
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But before he could give them their gift, Nate had to ask Grizz a question everybody was curious about. Does Grizz keep his long and fluffy white beard all year long? The answer? Grizz maintains his beard all year. Everything is authentic.
A fun couple
Nate then asked the couple why they were so committed to playing their roles as the first couple of the North Pole. Grizz replied that “We don’t have kids at home anymore.” and Sue joked that they now “have to go and harass somebody else’s.”
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Most of Grizz and Sue’s gigs are pre-planned visits but they also love showing up uninvited to places and events as well. Grizz joked that “when we find a party crashable, we’ll crash it… I don’t like doing private parties just because I like the element of surprise.”
The first gift
At this point, Nate said that it was good that they loved the element of surprise because they also came with a Secret Santa gift. The couple definitely was caught off guard. Nate first handed Sue a small box for her to open.
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Sue opened the gift and realized it was a check for $5,000. When she unfolded it, Grizz took a look and exclaimed “Holy Moly.” Nate then told them, “We know you’ve had a rough year. But that’s not from us. We’re just dropping it off from another good Samaritan.”
The second gift
Nate handed them another similar-sized package. When they saw the check for $10,000 Sue put her hands up to her mouth in shock. She could not believe it. She reiterated that they were only doing their charitable Christmas deeds for fun.
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And despite wearing their normal clothes, Sue and Grizz were game in staying in character as Nate said “For any kids watching, you’re Santa’s helpers, right?” Grizz replied, “Yes, I get a report directly.”
Hoping to be back
Grizz then told Nate that he hopes 2021 will be the only year that he and Sue have to miss out on the holiday festivities. If they are fit enough, they are looking forward to resuming their duties again in 2022. In fact, Sue has been working on a new Santa Claus costume for Grizz.
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Grizz explained that the suit he had been wearing for decades was now getting too hot and stuffy. Sue is making a new suit with a thinner material. When that is done, Grizz looks forward to shaking his belly like a bowl full of jelly all the time.
Christmas in their hearts
When East Idaho News asked Grizz why he and Sue does what they do for a long time, he said, “Christmas is a giving thing. We’re celebrating, but we’re also celebrating the fact that we want to give to other people.”
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Grizz continued to say, “That’s kind of why we started doing this together – because it was our present to each other. We can go out there and have fun with other people together.” Indeed, Pocatello is so lucky to have this couple in their community.
