Tennessee Santa look-a-like travels to Ripon to spread festive cheer
John Medlin lived in Kirkby Malzeard when he was based their in the US army and now travels back every year dressed as Father Christmas
Last updated 23rd Dec 2021
Father Christmas is officially in Ripon, all the way from... Tennessee?
Yes, you read that right. John Medlin from Nashville, who looks just like Santa, travels to Ripon every year, not only to visit his daughter and grandchildren, but other children in the city who would like to meet 'the man with the bag' .
Mr Medlin and his family moved to Kirkby Malzeard in the 1990s while he worked for the US army but then later moved back to the States. His daughter, who was taught at a school in Ripon, chose to return to the area and has since created a family of her own.
It's become a yearly tradition for Mr Medlin to don his Santa suit and visit children in and around Ripon, visiting for the last six years.
He said:
"It is the most fun thing to do in my life. I've never done anything that is more fun than to be Santa Claus. The children seem to really take to me and Mrs Claus and I've had children react so positively.
"It is so amazing to see a child's face when I as Santa Claus knock on the door with my big red suit and a child answers. The surprised look on their face - I just don't have the words to describe how heart-warming that is.
"We love to come back to Ripon and we always choose to stay in the same place every year. We even dry by our old home in Kirkby Malzeard to see how different it is."
Families wanting a visit from Mr Medlin can do so by donating money which will go to local charity The Jett Pack. It supports Ripon boy Jett Stenbeck who has Becker/Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. He was diagnosed with the condition at 18 months old.
The muscular dystrophies are a group of inherited genetic conditions that gradually cause the muscles to weaken, leading to an increasing level of disability.
It's a progressive condition, which means it gets worse over time. It often begins by affecting a particular group of muscles, before affecting the muscles more widely.
Every visit Mr Medlin makes, the money goes towards buying equipment for Jett - like a motorised wheelchair which costs up to £10,000.
Some children have become so infatuated with Mr Medlin that whenever they see another Farther Christmas they refuse to believe he's the 'real deal'.
He added:
"Some children only believe that I'm the real Santa Claus nobody else will do. They see others and they believe they're just my helpers but if they want to see the real Santa they believe they can only see me which is completely fine!"
Last year Mr Medlin and his wife - aka Mrs Claus - were unable to travel to Ripon to visit their daughter, grandchildren and the other children around the city due to covid restrictions.
But so they didn't miss out on their yearly visit from Santa, Mr Medlin had short video calls with them to let them know if they'd made it on his 'Nice List'.
He said:
"Not being here I couldn't do the things we'd normally do in the past. However, I did do around 20 virtual visits from our home here just outside Nashville. The children were disappointed but they understood why they couldn't see Santa and that it was because of covid."