CROMWELL, Conn. -- A larger-than-life Santa Clause was stolen from a home on Nooks Hill Road in Cromwell, police said Friday.

Midge Knowlton, who owns the oversized icon, said it’s been a fixture in her neighborhood for nearly a decade. She said she just wants him back, no questions asked.

“I do it for the kids,” she said. “Christmas is a time of giving and sharing."

Knowlton, a mother of five and grandmother of 15, said the animated holiday decorations mean so much to her that her yard is littered with Christmas cheer.

Knowlton said the 6-foot Santa was stolen from her yard last week.

“It waves, it plays music, it has a nylon Santa suit,” she said. “Someone kidnapped it from our front lawn. Our request is to give it back. It's been in our family a long time. It's very unique."

A new sign in her yard pleads to the public for Santa's safe return.

“I think it's a disgrace someone would do that,” neighbor Ron Michaud said. “She's had it up every year. It's a shame to do on Christmas."

What’s worse, Knowlton said, is that it happened on the one-year anniversary of her mother’s death.

“My mom passed away on that day one year ago, and it means a lot to us, and I lost my son-in-law four, three weeks after that,” she said.

Knowlton said she hopes to wake up one morning and see Santa back where he belongs.

“If they're guilty about it, make a call,” Michaud said. “I'll even pick it up. It's a shame someone would do that."

“They also took a tree,” Knowlton said. “They can keep that if they want it, but we want Santa back. It's part of our family.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the Cromwell Police Department at 860-635-8248.