There’s no mistaking which house on SE Walters Terrace is the Christmas House. A custom-made, 22-foot-tall Santa towers over the house, greeting those who will soon be standing in line to tour the interior of the home.
Entering the house, the smell of Christmas permeates the air. Holiday lights tinkle, adding a colorful and playful glow to the walls.
And the Christmas trees. Some are floor-to-ceiling tall and so laden with ornaments it’s a wonder they cling on.
“We literally do not cook anymore,” JW Salveson said while giving St. Lucie Voice a sneak-peek tour ahead of Friday’s grand opening.
Salveson explained that the house MUST smell like Christmas – “I can’t have this place smelling like bacon!”
Instead of starving for the month of December, Salveson and his partner, Jerome Sangalli, order in, taking their food to a covered cabana out on the lanai to eat.
This is the 10th year Salveson and Sangalli have converted their home into the Christmas House to benefit Dogs and Cats Forever and collect toys for the children served by CASTLE, an organization dedicated to preventing child abuse and neglect through education and awareness.
The Christmas House actually started 12 years ago, but Salveson and Sangalli had to take a two-year break from hosting the holiday tradition in 2015 following a traffic crash that left Salveson severely injured.
He was told he’d never walk again.
“I was more concerned about not being able to do the Christmas House than not being able to walk,” Salveson said.
The crash happened at a stop light on Floresta Drive. A young woman who was texting slammed her Cadillac into Salveson’s car at 55 mph, according to Salveson.
He sustained four broken ribs, a neck fracture, three spine fractures, and lost teeth from chomping the steering wheel. Sangalli suffered neck issues.
By mid-2016, Salveson made contact with a doctor who was able to repair him to the point he could re-learn how to walk.
This year’s Christmas House is their first back from the crash – and dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima.
Salveson explained that in his delirium in the hospital, the news was playing on TV and a story came on about the anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal.
A devout Catholic as a child, Salveson prayed to Our Lady of Fatima, promising to say the rosary daily if he’d be able to get the Christmas House open again and be able to walk.
He hasn’t skipped a day since – though, he admitted, he had to look up the rosary in order to pray it.
“We’re calling it a Christmas Miracle,” Salveson said.
Tours take approximately 20 minutes and are narrated/explained by a small army of volunteers who man their stations each night.
The house is located at 716 SE Walters Terrace and is open from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily from Dec. 8 to 17.
Free, secure parking is available on Floresta Boulevard at Aycock/Dignity Funeral Home, Port St. Lucie Christian Church, and Floresta Elementary School.
For more information, visit the Christmas House’s facebook page: Facebook.com – search “Port St. Lucie Christmas House.”
What You’ll See – (a short list)
- The Joan Rivers Tree: collection of Faberge egg ornaments
- The Forgotten Angel Tree: collection of Christmas angels that once presided over Christmas mornings and have since been discarded
- The Florida Tree: a colorful collection of Florida ornaments
- The Bird Tree: 500 birds perched among the branches
- The Hallmark Trees: one is a collection of glass ball ornaments; the other is Hallmark whimsies
- The Campbell Soup Tree: collection of vintage ornaments produced by Campbell Soup
- The Golden Tree: collection of golden ornaments on a rotating tree
- The Norman Rockwell Tree
- The Disney Room – containing multiple trees of ornaments and Mickey’s Ski Slope
- The Candy Cane Lane Room – Wizard of Oz themed holiday decoration including the Wicked Witch of the West ready to party.
- The Hanukkah Bush: an upside-down blue and white Christmas tree decorated with the words “world” and “peace”
- The Coca-Cola Village.
How to Help:
A new toy valued $10 or more per person for entry or a $10 raffle ticket to benefit Dogs and Cats Forever and CASTLE. Donations can be made to www.GoFundMe.com/portstluciechristmashouse to help offset the expense of putting on the house.
