This time of year is simply magical at NorthPark Center. Beautiful Christmas trees and hundreds of poinsettias start popping up mid-November, and the shopping center is all decked out by the time Black Friday rolls around.

2015 marks our 50th anniversary, and thus our 50th holiday season! Can you guess what holiday decorations have been around since that very first Christmas in 1965?

The Candy Santa and Pecan Reindeer! Santa and his four reindeer have gone through many updates since then, of course – you won’t find any 50-year-old almonds on Rudolph! But the original design still soars high above the duck and turtle pond in Neiman Marcus Court every year. Our wonderful and talented team of engineers ensures all the nuts, marshmallows, and candies are perfectly in place before hoisting them up high for all to enjoy.

Back in 1970, a woman by the name of Reggie Childs revamped and expanded the decorations to include massive lollipop Christmas trees and giant marshmallow candy canes. Childs, along with the help of her family, lovingly placed each and every element onto the pieces in her living room in Dallas – a project that took them months of preparation and work. The SUNDAY Magazine of the Dallas Times Herald on Dec. 20, 1970, listed the materials used to create this spectacularly festive display – 24,000 lollipops, 16,000 pecans, 6,000 almonds, 200 pounds of red candy and 40,000 marshmallows.

The Candy Santa and Pecan Reindeer are a NorthPark tradition beloved by many Dallas families. On November 30, we posted a photo of the decorations to our Facebook page and received several heartfelt responses.

Joy Dickinson Tipping – “It isn’t Christmas till I stand under Rudolph and make a wish!”

Dottie Hawes – “I took my children and grandchildren and now great-grandchildren to see this marshmallow/nut Santa and sleigh at NorthPark! Probably 45+ years. Beautiful.”

Connie Erickson Davis – “My all time favorite decoration at NorthPark! It just rings out special memories for so many of us...will be at NorthPark this week to enjoy the decor and shopping...Thanks for making NorthPark an outstanding place to enjoy the season...”

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