GREENVILLE, Mich. — A Greenville man, known as “Papa Gnome,” is doing his best to spread cheer this holiday season.
Papa Gnome came to be during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
“I wanted to just spread positivity and get rid of the negative out of my life and just be positive,” he told FOX 17 Thursday.
Papa Gnome says he wears hats because of a scalp condition.
“Well, the flat caps made me itch, and I was like, ‘well, I can’t do that,’ and my neighbor kept calling me a garden gnome every time she seen me, so I was like, ‘hey, I want to make her smile because she has kids that were immune compromised.’ So, I bought a gnome hat and I put that on. It made her day,” he explained.
Since then, he dresses in character every day. And, as a professional shopper, he gets plenty of opportunities to be seen.
“Kids love it. Everybody loves it. All the positive and all the smiles. I mean, I’d see a grown man walk in and he’d be all looking down and he’d see me, he does smile and laugh,” he said.
Papa Gnome enjoys sharing videos on social media—doing a gnome dance of some sort.
But, this time of year, Papa Gnome takes a back seat to Santa Clause. You can find him and his wife in local parades and even schools, bringing smiles to kids in West Michigan.
“They think I’m Santa disguised as Papa Gnome, so Santa’s living in their hometown as Papa Gnome,” he explained.
And, just recently, he popped up unannounced to chase the Grinch out of a local Meijer store!
“I just love it, and life is a lot better now. If you just take every, all the positivity and focus on that and not the negativity, life is a lot better and more enjoyable and you’re making memories every day,” he added.
Click here to learn more about Papa Gnome and what he brings to the community.
