A chance to photograph their child in Santa’s lap draws a lot of locals to Rothe Florists annual open house.
A certain celebrity makes the annual open house at Rothe Florists a “can’t miss” family event.
For seven years, parents have packed the Philadelphia shop so their children can meet the jolly man in a bright red suit.
“The idea came about when I found out there is really no Santa for children to visit in the Mt. Airy neighborhood,” said shop owner, Herb Rothe III. “I thought it would be a great community outreach.”
On his annual visit, the first Friday of December, Santa perches on a bench in the greenhouse, surrounded by locally grown poinsettias — which provides parents a very nice photo opportunity.
“Sales are not crazy — we do move some product — but that is not the purpose of the event,” Rothe said. “We designed the open house to showcase who we are, what we have to offer and to emphasize our long-time community presence.” (The shop has been around since 1908!)
Nearly all the visitors come from the Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill neighborhoods, “so they tend to know each other and mingle while the kids wait in line to visit with Santa,” Rothe said. To encourage guests to linger after meeting the Saint Nick, the staff serves warm cider, cookies and candy canes.
