Christmas miracle as sleepy suburban village DEFEATS heartless Grinch over giant inflatable Santa Claus
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A Colorado community has come together to save a giant Santa Claus inflatable after a homeowners association tried to have the decorations removed just weeks before Christmas.
Dora Flores saved money for months to put up her enormous 28-foot-tall inflatable Santa in the backyard of her home in Severance.
The larger-than-life decoration quickly began to spread cheer, with neighbors admiring and snapping photos as they passed by.
But just last week, Flores received a letter from Fromm & Company LLC, which is in charge of the homeowners associations in Severance, demanding it be torn down.
The letter said: 'The Santa in your backyard is excessive in height and not permitted.'
The HOA asked the family to 'please remove immediately.'
The family was warned about possible fines and attorney fees if the giant jolly man stayed up.
Flores made a post on December 15 informing confused neighbors about the demands to take the inflatable down.
Dora Flores was told by the home owners association that her 28-foot-tall inflatable Santa Claus needed to be taken down
The HOA said if the inflatable was not taken down the family could be hit with fines
'This truly breaks our heart on the other hand we are blessed to have neighbors in our community who are willing to help us pay for fees,' Flores wrote.
'We do not want any money, what we want is support from the community from Severance to please email or call (FROMM company) and let them know truly how you all feel about having to remove Santa.'
She went on to ask on behalf of her and her family to help advocate to keep Santa up at least until Christmas Day.
The call for help sparked a fire in neighbors who responded quickly with signs that read 'We stand with Santa' and giant inflatables of their own.
Cody Bowden, the neighbor across the street from Flores, set up a giant snowman similar to Santa.
'Definitely now, I won't take it down,' Bowden told News 9. 'I don't see that this is anything offensive or anything wrong.'
Another neighbor joined the rebellion with a third giant inflatable reindeer to accompany Santa and the snowman.
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Flores's neighbors rallied together in protest of the HOA's demands by placing signs and putting up their own giant decorations. Flores received a call after from the HOA shortly after saying that the Santa could stay
After news of the demand spread within the community, Flores said she received a phone call from Fromm and Company, saying they had made a mistake.
The spokesperson apologized on behalf of the firm and said Santa could stay.
Only two days after Flores's original post, she went back online to announce that Santa had been saved.
'I wanted to thank everybody who took time of their day to send emails and calls to the HOA to advocate for our Santa. This is such a blessing to know that as a community we can all come together!'
Her comment section under the post was littered with neighbors sharing how excited they were to hear the good news.
'They did not make a mistake they realized that they did something stupid. I'm glad Santa has been saved,' one excited neighbor wrote.
Another weighed in: 'Yes, their mistake was underestimating our love for giant Santa!! So glad you're able to keep it up!!'
A third added: 'Love this Santa so much!!! My daughter gets excited to see my every time. So glad that the right call was made, FROMM.'
A similar sized Santa at 26-feet-tall is sold by Walmart for about $800.
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Looks like a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon.
threatening HOA presidents and their boards with lawsuits used to be the favorite part of my sales job ...
HOA's should be banned. I'd never seriously consider living in one.
I agree with you. I would never live in one.
they're a financial crime waiting to happen ...
You can’t get a new home in my area without it being under the thumb of a HOA. A nearby farm was recently sold to a developer, who got a huge subdivision approved on the land and carved out the original farmhouse and two acres to remain as a single family lot. That house is actually really nice, but they inexplicably put it under the HOA jurisdiction, subjecting it to about $100/mo in eternal HOA fees. It probably would have sold quickly had they not done so, but now it’s just sitting there with no action. Stupid. I saw a new condo building trying to sell units in the downtown area. Two BR, two BA, 1.2 million and the HOA fees are $800/mo. Good luck selling a tiny place with HOA fees equal to two car payments.
That's insanity, but I guess if you can afford a 1.2 million dollar condo you're not gonna sweat 800 dollars a month in HOA fees