North Pole, Alaska

As we found out in The Miracle on 34th Street, yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. But we never did find out exactly where he lives during that classic movie.

Alaskans, however, know where he lives -- about 14 miles southeast of Fairbanks, in North Pole, Alaska, fittingly enough.

The northern Alaska city is everything Christmas, from January through December every year. The streetlights are decorated in candy cane motif and the many buildings are painted in Christmas colors and designs. The street names include Santa Claus Lane, Snowman Lane, Kris Kringle, Mistletoe and Holiday roads, Saint Nicholas Drive, North Star Drive, and Blitzen and Donnor drives.

If you don't believe in Santa Claus, then don't travel to North Pole. Visitors there will attest -- Santa is a live man, and he's happier and jollier than ever.

You can catch the jolly man at the Santa Claus House every day, and you can even see his reindeer, too. It doesn't matter if it is July or next week, he'll be there.

North Pole's history dates back to the 1940s, when Bon Davis homesteaded the area. Dahl and Gaske Development Company bought the Davis homestead and subdivided the land, naming it North Pole in an attempt to attract the toy industry to locate to the area.

To toys didn't come, but the people did. North Pole grew, and it has continued to develop as a theme city, where, according to City Hall, "the spirit of Christmas lives yearround."

The Santa Claus House perpetuates the feeling of Christmas. As legend has it, Con and Nellie Miller arrived in Fairbanks in 1949 with $1.40 in their pocket and two kids.

Con Miller decided to make a living by becoming a fur buyer in the nearby areas, the store's Web site indicates. He donned an old red Santa suit, and earned celebrity status as Santa Claus in the eyes of the village children.

In 1952, the Millers decided to build a trading post near Fairbanks, in an area recently named North Pole. One day, while Con Miller was working, a young boy recognized him and said, "Hello, Santa Claus. Are you building a new house?"

Since then, the building has been called Santa Claus House. International recognition has been given to Santa Claus House since then, and now the second generation of Millers run the store.

Of course, Christmas isn't everything in North Pole -- although in December, that may be true.

During the winter, North Pole's cold, crisp weather makes it an ideal place to watch the northern lights. During the summer, Interior Alaska warms up considerably, often posting the warmest temperatures in the state.

North Pole and the surrounding areas are great places to go catch some grayling in the summer, or just spend a weekend camping and sightseeing.

In the winter, you may even catch a dog team winding its way down the trail. There are a number of recreational and competitive mushers who call the North Pole area home.