MERRILLVILLE | Santa Claus will be treated like royalty when he visits Town Hall Friday for the town's Tree Lighting and Holiday Bazaar.

The town created a throne for Santa while children sit on his lap, tell him what they would like for Christmas and take a picture with him.

Zoning Director Dorinda Gregor said it was a community effort to build the massive chair that is currently surrounded by presents and guarded by a velvet rope.

She said the town bought wood for the project, but Public Works employee Rick DeLor built the chair.

"He is very meticulous," Gregor said.

Bill Cook, a professional painter and the husband of Merrillville police employee Rhonda Cook, painted portions of the chair, while Gregor's daughter, Beth Gregor, painted some of the chair's embellishments.

RJ's Custom Upholstery Inc. in Merrillville donated the upholstery used for the project, Gregor said.

Donald Good, a Merrillville woodcarver, hand-carved Santa's likeness into a piece of wood and also donated it to the town. The carved piece was placed near the top of chair.

"It was a lot of fun," Good said, "It was an opportunity to do something for the kids."

Gregor said the idea to start the project came after attending holiday celebrations in other municipalities. She said she saw a chair for Santa at a St. John holiday event and thought "we needed our own."

Gregor received permission to take a picture of St. John's chair and asked DeLor to design a similar piece.

Gregor said she was excited when she saw how the chair looked in front of a winter scene backdrop donated by Lamar Advertising last year. She also hopes to add to the town's holiday collection in the future.

"Maybe next year we might get a sleigh," Gregor said.