For the past 22 years, children and adults have lined River Road in Washington Park, waiting for a chance to have a chat with Santa on his front porch.

Saturday, they’ll do the same. From 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., Santa and Mrs. Claus will be welcoming boys and girls, taking note of what’s on their wish lists and sending them off with some candy and a “Ho-ho-ho!”

This is a gift to the community from Barbie and Tommy Alligood. Inside their River Road home is a Christmas wonderland, each room with its own theme. Outside is another; this one with a massive Christmas tree and free-standing hearth where stockings are hung by the chimney with care. There’s a tent where cookies and punch will be served to the as-many-as 500 people who will stream through the Alligoods’ modest yard over the course of three hours. The Alligoods pay for it all themselves, asking in return a donation of bags of dry dog food for J and J’s Homeless Pet Rescue.

Every year, more and more people come to see Santa on the Porch. Saturday will be no exception.

The origin of Santa on the Porch goes back four decades, to the 1970s, when Tommy Alligood would dress up as Santa for his nieces and nephews. When Barbie came into the picture in 1984, her sister-in-law made her a matching Santa dress, and the couple started making the holiday rounds at schools and hospitals, and anyone who called to request a visit from the jolly couple. At a certain point, they decided to stop stretching the Clauses thin and invited everyone over to a Santa party at their house, instead.

“The first year, we might have had 50 or 75 people show up, but then it took on a life of its own,” Barbie Alligood laughed. “I used to do everything myself, but through the years, it’s just gotten bigger and bigger. I have to get my friends and family to help.”

Helping includes putting up decorations both inside and outside, stringing lights throughout the front yard, decorating trees, covering bushes with fake snow, setting up the tent, bagging candy for the children — the list goes on.

It’s a labor of love, Barbie Alligood said.

“It gives us a lot of joy because the children are just so happy and excited, and my husband feels like we own our own business, and that’s our community. Our community supports our business, and we feel like it’s a way to give back,” she said. “My husband is a strong believer in giving back.”

Tommy Alligood is the Alligood behind Alligood’s Painting. He has a reputation for expressing appreciation for his customers by cooking a ham or turkey for them once the job is complete. He also has another hidden talent, according to his wife.

“He’s a very good Santa. He’s very patient, and he spends time with each child,” she said. “My husband really does love being Santa.”

That care keeps people returning from across Beaufort County, and even some from Greenville, every year. Santa on the Porch is open to everyone, Barbie Alligood said.

“You don’t have to have children to come up here. Some people bring their pets. We have right many who bring their dogs up here, and I don’t mind that as long as they’re friendly and on leashes,” she said.

There’s no charge for anything, but J and J’s Homeless Pet Rescue has been very appreciative of the donations they’ve received over the last decade, Barbie Alligood said. The Alligoods forged a connection with the pet rescue years ago, based solely on the fact that they’re pet lovers and heard the rescue could use dog food donations. Now they set a jar out for cash donations, too.

The Christmas cheer is pervasive at the Alligoods: in all the years they’ve been hosting the event, they’ve have had no issues of any kind — even weather ones.

“We’ve never, ever, had any problems, whatsoever,” Barbie Alligood said. “We’ve never had any mishaps; anything missing; nobody being ugly.”

It keeps them coming back in costume, year after year. Just as their guests come back, year after year to spend some time on the porch with Santa.

For those planning on attending the Alligoods’ Santa party, Barbie Alligood had these words of advice: “Please dress your children warmly. You might be standing in line for 30 minutes to an hour. You need to dress warm.”

Santa on the Porch is located at the 400 block of River Road, Washington Park.