The holiday season is a particularly magical time at the home of Barrie Police Officers Nicole Rodgers and Mark Hankin.
Hankin, Rodgers and their three children are in the family's basement 'workshop' busy as Santa's elves.
The veteran police officers are also entrepreneurs who started Santa Sacks, a one-of-a-kind company in Canada that now reaches around the world.
Santa Sacks are nostalgic gift bags made out of canvas or burlap that can be used for pretty much anything Christmassy.
And they're environmentally friendly and a time-saver because you don't need to wrap gifts.
"The idea is you leave the Santa Sack out empty on Christmas eve. Santa comes and he puts your gifts in it. Whether they're wrapped or not, everybody has their own tradition. But it's the magic - the same as a stocking when you hang it on the mantle. When you come down in the morning it's overflowing with stuff," Rodgers explains.
The couple discovered the idea online in 2015 and decided to test the waters by ordering 100 sacks.
Within 24 hours all 100 were sold.
Santa Sacks Ontario expanded to Santa Sacks Canada in 2016 and the couple expects to ship up to 10,000 this year.
"We've sold from here in Barrie all the way to Tuktoyaktuk, Whitehorse and Luxumberg, Ireland, England, Texas, Idaho and across the U.S.," Rodgers said.
"I get a sense of satisfaction in that we've brought something here to Canada," Hankin adds. "We're the sole ones to do it. And to see these go from this country to another country to all over. I've actually met people who said 'You're the Santa Sack guy. We ordered those last year.' That was really neat for me."
The Santa Sacks can be personalized, are made to last for years and start new traditions.
One mom says her 'elf' brings the Sack on Dec. 1 as part of the package from the North Pole. Every week her kids have to fill the Sack with old toys to donate them to the needy. Then Santa will be grateful and fills their sack on Christmas.
"She used it as a way of purging toys but also teaching her kids how to give and I think that's an important thing," Rodgers said.
Hankin books time off in November for the business and it's good therapy for a tough profession.
"It's super important. In our regular jobs we live in everybody else's worst days. So to set time aside for this for myself in November, it's a little break from that." said Hankin.
Hankin and Rodgers donate Santa Sacks to the Rylee Faith Foundation, a charity that puts together holiday packages for babies and their families spending Christmas in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
"We're working with them in order to create that magic for someone who's in the worst place they could be in on Christmas Eve," said Rodgers.
"Our reach is local community but it's also across the world. It's a positive twist on how we get to bring that joy to the community when our jobs sometimes are, like Mark said, dealing with sometimes the more negative side of it. That's satisfying," said Rodgers.
Grandparents purchase Santa Sacks for grandchildren, parents buy them to fill for kids in University. Pet owners also embrace the tradition and people order the sacks for teachers.
For Rodgers, it's about creating great family memories.
"It's part of our magic," said Rodgers.
For more information visit Santa Sacks Canada.
