By the time Clearwater’s temperatures dip from sweltering to merely warm, the irrepressible real estate broker and Scientologist has already shifted into Winter Wonderland mode—a four-week sprint that transforms an empty downtown park into a full-scale holiday village complete with falling snow, cookie houses, a sparkly Cinderella carriage and nearly a hundred Christmas trees.
As an executive of the Clearwater Community Volunteers since 2002, Anderson—unofficially known as “Chief Elf”—does far more than stage a civic event: She reverse-engineers joy, building spaces where wonder is the default setting and where thousands of local children experience a Christmas they might never otherwise have.
Here, she talks about preparing for Winter Wonderland 2025, the art of creating happy moments, her very Floridian approach to snowstorms, and why Christmas begins for her long before December.
You’re famous for your silver antlers and Christmas-tree earrings. How did that become your signature look?
I have no idea. I just dress up for Christmas this time of the year! I have a purple Christmas outfit and Santa hats in three different colors. I’m always changing up what I have on.
What time does a woman who builds Christmas villages wake up—and what’s the first thing you do?
It depends. I’m usually up by seven and the first thing I do is feed my cats and my dog—otherwise I can’t do anything else because my cats are screaming at me.
I try to have a tea break before I start the day, where I just chill. Usually my black cat, Merlin, joins me. It doesn’t always happen, but that’s where I figure out what’s ahead for the day, make a plan.
You once said that by September, everything besides “animals, work and Winter Wonderland” drops out of your life. What does that pivot actually look like?
My car becomes a mess, I’ve got backed-up laundry, and last year I never even opened Christmas cards until after Christmas! Life just gets really crazy.
Walk us through your first step when you begin planning the year’s event. Is it a list? A mental picture? A moment of inspiration?
As we run Winter Wonderland, what I do is look to see what needs to change for next year. Last year, for instance, I realized that we needed a new train. We had a very old gas-powered, trackless train that was run on a John Deere tractor. So as soon as Winter Wonderland was over, I started searching for a new train, and we bought a new one in February, at 50 percent off the full price. And this year, I found a life-size peppermint sled and a 10-foot-tall snow globe the kids can play in, and both have been hugely popular this year.
And what’s the most unexpectedly delightful aspect of your relationship with Winter Wonderland?
I’ve got an incredible group of volunteers. And they each step up and take on something, and I can totally count on them to do their job. Along with that, we get hundreds of volunteers from the community who help build the village. We get schools that come, businesses that send their employees—it’s just amazing how people want to help us do this, and this year we probably had more help than ever. It was beautiful.
People describe you as the “fairy godmother” of Winter Wonderland. Do you feel that role when you’re working, or is the experience more like being a construction foreman, executive producer or ringmaster?
All of the above. But I’m definitely the creative director. I was thinking about this yesterday, because I’m in the stores that sell holiday decorations, looking for what I need to make the wreaths and garlands better, and that’s where I see great ideas of how we can change and improve things. I’m always looking for upgrades.
What’s one tiny detail you insist on that most people would never even notice—but you know it changes everything?
Well, there’s several. One is, I want a lot of lights on every tree, and they have to look neat. So we have volunteers go through the trees probably two or three times before I’m happy with the lights.
What’s your relationship with glitter: friend, foe or frenemy?
You can never have enough glitter! More lights, more glitter and more fun things every year. Those are some of my mottos.
How do you create snow in Florida?
Our snow is made out of distilled water, alcohol and Mr. Bubble bubble bath, although it looks like real snow. It’s a delight to watch people come and stand around, especially the children, looking up at snow with their arms out.
Is there an element of Winter Wonderland that people assume is professionally manufactured but is actually built by volunteers?
We’re all volunteers. One of my specialties, I have to say, is the wreaths and the garlands. You can’t go anywhere else and see wreaths and garlands like at Winter Wonderland. They’re just spectacular. We have a giant room and all year it’s set up to decorate the wreaths. And when we take them down from Winter Wonderland, we hang them on the walls instead of packing them so that they stay nice. Every wreath and every garland has to look like it’s brand new before it’s hung up—even if it’s 20 years old.
You’ve said that organizing Winter Wonderland would’ve been “inconceivable” before Scientology. What changed for you?
I never would have thought before I was a Scientologist that I could take on such a huge project. As I progressed through counseling and courses, I found myself more able to help. The more I progressed in Scientology, the more confident I became, the more able to pull things off and the better organized. I definitely gained an ability to manage people and to work with a lot of volunteers, which I had never done on such a large scale before.
Which Scientology tools do you rely on most during the four-week construction sprint?
For me, one of the biggest things is the realization that no matter what happens, I keep my cool, don’t get upset with people, treat everyone with kindness and be appreciative of all the volunteers. I would say just treating others like I want to be treated is the biggest thing.
Despite all the extra work, I always make sure I bake for my volunteers every day—and that includes gluten-free and keto goodies, so everyone can enjoy.
Is there a Scientology principle you find yourself returning to each year as the pressure mounts?
I think it’s the simple fact from L. Ron Hubbard that children are our future. And I do this for children so they can have an amazing experience. And we also have a food and toy drive, and it’s very important to me that we help needy children have a better Christmas.
One of my favorite quotes from L. Ron Hubbard is this: “The greatest joy there is in life is creating. Splurge on it!”
Do you remember the time you said that Winter Wonderland “changes kids’ lives”? What was the moment you realized that?
It’s funny because I realize that every year. We go through a lot to get this village created in a month. Just to see one happy child chase the snow or jump into our snow globe is to create joy for kids. It’s new every year for me to see children and their families enjoy Winter Wonderland.
But it started when my kids were little and they got to do things that aren’t normal in Florida—ice skating, for example. So I guess I’ve had that idea of how special Winter Wonderland was ever since my girls were very young. And that’s 30 and some years ago.
Could you share a story that stayed with you long after the lights came down?
There was a teacher who just loved bringing their students. There were children in wheelchairs, and they would come and you could see them smile. Some of these children had no other Christmas, literally—that is what the teachers would tell us. They had no experience of Christmas except what they saw at Winter Wonderland. And we would open during the day especially for them. I would be Mrs. Claus and my friend Bob would be Santa.
And after the first year of their visit, we had gifts for the kids, because the teachers told us those were the only gifts most of them would get.
To be able to put some joy into the lives of those children is a very special experience. And that’s why my friend Bob, who usually doesn’t want to be Santa at Winter Wonderland, always demanded to be Santa for those children.
If someone wanted to create a Winter Wonderland in, say, Denmark or Dubai or Des Moines, what’s the first principle you’d tell them?
People call me quite often and ask me what to do and I tell them to start out small. Get a tree, have someone baking cookies for the kids, have a Santa. And then figure out where to go from there. You know, we didn’t start out like this—it has taken us 32 years to get this magnificent.
What’s one rookie mistake people should absolutely avoid?
Having bad Santa costumes! You have to have really high-quality Santa costumes. And then, not only that—you have to make sure Santa has his wig and his beard on right. I’ve walked into Santa’s house and found him with his mustache under his chin. So you have to make sure that Santa looks perfect. This is very, very important.
When you picture the ideal moment a child experiences at Winter Wonderland, what do you see?
Just pure joy! And then, when a child is experiencing that, the parents go, “Oh my God, look how happy my kid is!”
Do you ever take a minute during the event, stand back, and just watch the happiness happen?
When I can really do that, I see how beautiful Winter Wonderland is. Because when I’m working on a project or creating it I don’t see it. But when I step back, I see what other people see—that it’s stunning, it’s gorgeous.
We start in a small, vacant park and we create a magical village. And to walk around and watch people enjoying it is so heartwarming and gives me such satisfaction that I can’t even put it into words. I sometimes get chills thinking about how happy we make people.
What do people always underestimate about creating joy?
The time, planning and creativity that’s involved. All the hard work—and especially the details.
What do you hope people carry with them long after they leave the snow, lights and cookies behind?
People act differently at Christmas time. They are nicer and walk around saying “Merry Christmas.”
I wish they would have that love for people all the time.
