Every year in Solvang, community members gather around a giant Christmas tree for the lighting ceremony. The festivity draws from a tradition in Denmark, where people hold hands around the tree and sing.
Spotted in Solvang
Find Ferd and the Magic Hat: A Solvang Christmas Story on the shelves of Santa Ynez Valley shops, including Valley Hardware, The Book Loft, and Los Olivos General Store or on Amazon. Email Adam McHugh at adammchugh@gmail.com to purchase a copy for $30 with free shipping.
The scene is one of the very last images in Kate and Adam McHugh’s first children’s book, Ferd and the Magic Hat: A Solvang Christmas Story, which was published in October. Having experienced the tree lighting ceremony in Solvang before, Kate remembered the unifying feeling.
“You have people from everywhere, including our locals and all ages, all singing together, and you feel this sense of belonging,” Kate said. “We wanted to capture that as one of the themes in the book of welcome and belonging.”
Flipping through the 32-page picture book, readers follow a Danish elf, or nisse, named Ferd around Solvang as he overcomes obstacles and lights up the town square’s Christmas tree. In Danish folklore, a nisse is the protecting spirit of a place who gives holiday gifts and cares for barn animals.
Adam was inspired by his research into their character’s namesake, Ferdinand Sorensen, the craftsman responsible for many of the fairy tale designs dotted throughout Solvang, like the dragon spire and some of the weathervanes.
“I was like, ‘We have to bring the dragon spire to life in the story for sure,’” Adam said. “I also wanted to include a lot of details for people that are really on the inside of our little valley here.”
Considering Adam’s knowledge of history and writing experience combined with Kate’s love for children’s literature (as an English teacher and former librarian), they decided to start the project.
After a few friendly creative differences, the pair eventually got the hang of merging their voices and writing a book together. They spent the better part of two years whittling the initial draft of 1,300 words down to 600 and communicating details to their illustrator. By the end, they were “killing it,” Kate said.
“I am more the whimsical, fantastical, imaginative side of our story, and Adam was definitely the driving action and some key plot points in the research,” Kate described.
Now, 1,000 copies of Ferd and the Magic Hat exist in the world. Some are already in the hands of readers, and others are for sale on the shelves of Solvang businesses. Based on how many books they sell this season, the couple will adjust their order for next year. Adam predicts the book could sell for the next decade.
“It’s going to hopefully appeal to a fairly broad audience of people that visit Solvang,” he said.
“So many people visit during the holidays that we think we will keep getting fresh audiences, which would be fun to keep introducing them to the magic,” Kate added.
However, the winding road to publication wasn’t all magic and cheer. Even if they liked the book, traditional publishers weren’t interested because the story is so local.
“Another part of the lengthy process was basically me getting rejected by publisher after publisher, and agent after agent,” Adam said.
It was so taxing that they nearly gave up, but a nagging voice in Adam’s mind kept bugging him to self-publish. When he came across illustrator Allie Daigle online, he felt like they could make the high-quality product they dreamed of.
“We worked so intensively with her, giving her the specifics of what we wanted brought to life,” Kate said. “She was incredible at drawing a sketch [and] having us give feedback.”
To raise money for publication, they created a Kickstarter campaign, which raised more than $14,800. Adam walked into local businesses, telling people about the fundraiser, and Kate did the same at Dos Pueblos High School, where she teaches.
Their grassroots technique has worked so far. Adam’s goal has always been to sell it locally because it’s a story rooted in the Solvang community.
“That’s been a philosophy that we’ve been sticking to,” he said.
So far, they’ve gotten great reception from readers. Even when Adam goes to the post office to mail out copies, people in line buy the book. Post office workers do, too.
“Our book, we wanted to be a way to welcome visitors and even just the people who live here already into this spirit of joy that you can experience in Solvang,” Kate said. ∆
Reach Sun Staff Writer Madison White, from New Times’ sister paper, at mwhite@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Holiday Guide 2025.