At 92, Noel Creighton has become something of a Kiama treasure.

He’s lived here all his life, watched the town grow around him, and for more than 65 years has carried the mantle of the South Coast’s very own Santa Claus.

He smiles when he recalls that his childhood home once stood where the Kiama Leagues Club is today.

“So when I’m having dinner at night, when I do go, I’m actually sitting in my bedroom,” he laughed.

One of 11 children, Noel first put on the red suit in December 1957.

The extended Creighton family would gather in the old Tennis Hall near Hindmarsh Park for Christmas Eve, and with countless nieces and nephews racing around, Noel’s sisters decided someone needed to be Santa.

That someone, it was determined– would be him– a tradition that would carry out to this day.

Noel as Santa with Wendy and his son, also Noel

From that first family Christmas, Noel’s Santa duties quickly spread into the community.

Each year he’d appear around town– at the primary school, Rotary events, even at hospital Christmas parties

. One of his favourite memories is arriving by boat from the harbour to the school.

“I carried a bunch of towels with me– I wanted to make sure it was stable so I didn’t fall off!” he chuckled.

Over the years he became known for his grand entrances. He has arrived in a horse and carriage, a helicopter, boats, and even on a motorbike.

“I arrived on an old motor bike with the beard blowing in the wind, you got no idea, a lot of fun.”

He shakes his head. “They were good days.”

For the past 25 years, Noel has been Santa for Kiama Meals on Wheels, and this December he received a Community Service Award recognising his decades of joyful dedication.

Noel with his Community Service Award at Central Park Cafe

“He loves the Meals on Wheels and they love him,” his daughter Wendy Toomey said.

Wendy laughs when she remembers growing up with a Santa father. 

“I guess I didn’t know for a long time. My brother and I didn’t really realise it was Daddy. Then he used to come up to school and I still didn’t know Santa was Dad.”

 Still now, living in Kiama with her husband and father, she still calls Christmas “a special time of year.”

Noel as Santa before Meals on Wheels last week

Noel’s life in Kiama has never been just about Christmas, though.

For many years he has volunteered at the Presbyterian Church, where his son served as pastor for more than 20 years. Noel still tends the gardens there.

“The reason I do the gardening is because out the front, people are always saying good morning and good afternoon. I meet a lot of people—it’s amazing!”

He is still a familiar face around town– and often recognised.

“Some people up at Woolies, as I’m walking past, I don’t know their name, I just say hi or hello, and you know what they do? ‘Hi Santa,’” he laughed.

At 92, he still drives, keeps himself busy, plays bowls – “I can hold my own at the old bowling greens,” he said proudly – and enjoys chatting with visitors.

“People come into Kiama for the weekend and he finds out all about them,” Wendy said. “It is a lovely community– Kiama.”

One of Wendy’s favourite memories is of a little boy who came to their front door.

He had recognised Noel as Santa and wanted to be sure. “He asked Dad if he was the real Santa,” Wendy said. Noel told him gently, “Santa has lots of helpers – I’m one of Santa’s helpers.”

Noel has seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, and it’s clear within minutes of meeting him that he’s lived a life filled with gratitude and purpose.

“Life’s what you make of it– pull a muscle,” he jokes.

Faith has always been at the heart of Noel’s Christmas spirit.

He often shares a poem he loves, Santa’s Christmas Prayer, which tells of Santa kneeling before the nativity, recognising Jesus as the true meaning of the season.

“May they give You all the glory, for You’re the One True Christmas story,” the poem closes – words Noel shows still move him after all these years.

And perhaps that’s Noel’s greatest legacy – not just the red suit or the memorable entrances, but the quiet reminder he offers to everyone he meets: that joy is meant to be shared, that community is built on kindness, and that Christmas, at its very core, is about God’s love. 

In Kiama, you don’t need December to spot Santa.

He’s already here, gardening out the front of the church, rolling a bowl at the greens, or chatting to strangers who don’t stay strangers for long. And whether he’s in the suit or not, the spirit of Christmas seems to follow him everywhere.