The sound of jingle bells rings out as Garrett Veihl strides into a preschool room at the Grand Haven YMCA, ready to entertain excited three-year-olds.

With his white beard, red suit, and sack, Veihl is often mistaken for the real Santa.

"I get it quite often, sometimes even when it's not Christmas time," Veihl explained. "It's not hard being nice and putting joy on people's faces."

The Navy veteran makes roughly 20-25 appearances this time of year as one of Santa's helpers.

"Every job I've ever had has been a job of service, and this is a job of service and I like doing it," Veihl told Scripps News Grand Rapids. "I like making people happy."

Veihl has been donning a Santa costume and delighting both kids and adults for nearly five decades.

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The special holiday mission began on a Navy ship in 1978.

"A lieutenant who was going to play Santa Claus at the Christmas party for the ship, he fell through his attic when he went up to get his Santa Claus outfit out of it and hurt his back so he couldn't play Santa Claus," Veihl recalled. "I happened to be about the same size as him, and they asked me if I would be willing to play Santa Claus, and I said yes."

Veihl saved the day and found a new calling.

"I put it on, and I got the bug, and I've been doing it ever since," he said. "It means a lot because I get to spread joy and happiness, and that's what the season is all about."

Veihl has grown out his beard for years for the role, although he did have to shave and start over last year due to medical reasons.

During the summer, it's not unusual to get questions about why Santa is so far south of the North Pole.

"My daughter and my granddaughters, they buy me Hawaiian shirts with Santa's all over them and stuff, and I'll be wearing them in town, and someone will say, 'Santa Claus, why are you in Grand Haven?'," he said. "It's not hard just being a little bit on the heavy side and go, 'HO HO HO', easy to do."

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Veihl never charges a cent for his appearances and says Santa is a "giver, not a taker."

"What I get out of seeing people while I play Santa Claus... money can't buy. What I get from it, the feeling I get from it, the joy that it gives me, I probably get more joy than the people do from me," he said. "I plan on doing it as long as I can, as long as I'm still enjoying it."

This story was originally published by Janice Allen at Scripps News Grand Rapids.