What began more than 30 years ago as Bill Dieterle’s effort to bring the joy of Christmas to hospitalized children has turned into a free, year-round quest.

Santa, as he prefers to be called, is the owner of Santa’s Hideaway Hollow, a more than 90-acre spread about 3 miles east of Middlefield.

It’s there, Dieterle makes children happy, from children who are terminally ill to those with special needs.

“It started out with me fulfilling the wishes of hospitals to have Santa visit sick and dying children Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays,” he says. “Never in my wildest dreams could I have ever imagined doing this as long as I have and building all this.”

Over the years, the retired Stouffer’s executive has turned himself into Santa by growing a medium-length white beard and developing a big stomach that really does shake like a bowl full of jelly when he laughs.

THE BEGINNING

The idea for Santa’s Hideaway Hollow started more than 30 years ago while he was working as a Santa’s helper. One little boy jumped to the beginning of the line of children. The people in charge were about to ask him to go to the back of the line when Dieterle noticed a scar on the child and said it was okay for him to stay.

Dieterle asked him what he wanted for Christmas; the boy answered, “Nothing.”

“You must want something,” he recalls saying to the boy.

He was surprised by the child’s reply. “Santa, you know I’m dying. Please just make my mother happy.”

“That really got to me,” Dieterle says. “It was after that when I came up with the idea for Santa’s Hideaway Hollow because these kids have to have a place to come to rather than wait for a Christmas they might not have.”

Keeping the outside of your home in good shape adds curb appeal and value while saving money on more expensive exterior fixes later.

Dozens of small, inexpensive do-it- yourself projects can revitalize outdoor areas.

Try these:

Refresh house paint. A gallon of exterior paint costs $25-$34, depending on quality. For a cheaper option, tackle this project yourself to touch up or to change the color on your trim, shutters or the front of your home.

“It’s one of the best improvements you can make in your home’s curb appeal,” says Duane Prokop, a Mentor contractor.

Change or paint your front door. If your front door is looking a little sad, replace it or repaint it. Choose a color that works with your home’s exterior.

Plant something. Noelle Akin, Petitti Garden Center’s director of communication and education, says creating flower boxes or beds are less time-consuming alternatives to painting.

Dirt, mulch, plants and a shovel are all you need for flowers beds. If you have a porch, patio, deck or courtyard, constructing or installing flower boxes will add a touch of color. Brighten curb appeal with container gardens, especially near the front door, Akin says.

“Container gardens are an easy DIY project,” she adds. “You can start with a recycled container, use inexpensive plastic containers or you could purchase something larger and more exotic, but (you) don’t have to.”

Akin suggests choosing flowers that “attract the eye, especially bright red and yellow flowers that pull the eye toward the entry way.” Pastel flowers can be used “to soften the approach” to the doorway.

Make your lawn greener and healthier You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on your lawn to make it attractive and healthy. Sometimes, all it takes is cutting grass the proper length and pulling weeds to help your lawn look good, Prokop says.