The Santa Bear craze returns to the Dayton's Holiday Market on Friday to celebrate its 40th birthday.
It all began at Dayton's in the mid-1980s as longtime Santa Bear collectors know all too well.
"The first one was 1985 and it was originally a gift with a purchase," Mitch Berthiaume, curator of the Dayton's Marketplace, explains. "And then it became so popular that they started to sell them. The last Santa Bbears that Dayton's did was the year 2000, the bride and groom for the millennial."
Every year is a different theme, and that's one reason why people clamor for these soft and cute stuffed bears.
"People stand in line. We put stanchions out and people stand in line to get their bears," Berthiaume told WCCO. "I stand and open the gates and greet everybody who walks in. And it's like masses just pouring in there. So, it's very festive and it's very reminiscent for a lot of people."
Berthiaume adds that some people have such a love and devotion for Dayton's that they keep coming back year after year for the collectible bears.
Doors open at 10:00 a.m. Friday morning - and expect a long line.
The Dayton's Holiday Market is open through 12/27, Monday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Sundays noon to 5:00 p.m. They will be closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, December 26.
