When I was growing up in Southern California, there was a place up in the San Gabriel mountains, called "Santa's Village"...
It was open year-round, had real Reindeer, elves and all sorts of shops, rides and stuff. Plus that ol' Fat Bastard himself was there, making the occasional appearance, wowing the kids and doing the "ho ho ho" bit.
It closed down in the 80's after being there for quite a while. While I guess it was a good idea at the time, people just weren't up to making the long drive up to the mountains just to visit St. Nick all the time.