Being Santa Claus : What I Learned About the True Meaning of Christmas (9781101600528) by Lizard Sal; Lane Jonathan & Jonathan Lane

Author:Lizard, Sal; Lane, Jonathan & Jonathan Lane [Lizard, Sal]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781101600528
Publisher: Penguin USA
Published: 2012-11-08T05:00:00+00:00

I’VE LEARNED THAT NOW AND THEN SANTA needs to get a little creative in the spirit of keeping Christmas spirits bright.

Malls, as we all know, can be high-stress zones during Christmastime. There are big crowds and lots of hustle and bustle, and of course, long lines…especially to see Santa Claus. During the height of the season, some people stand in line for hours waiting to visit with Santa, and my heart always goes out to them. Parents try to keep their squirming little ones entertained, but even the most patient of children can stand up quietly for only so long. Tensions usually run high as people’s patience wanes, and I always wished I could do something to extend a little Christmas cheer to these intrepid folks. Hmmm…

What would Santa do?

One of the rules of being a mall Santa is usually that Santa Claus can’t be in the North Pole Village while he’s on his break. It makes sense: when Santa goes on break, so do his helpers. And if Santa stayed on the set, the helpers would need to stay, as well, in order to keep the crowd under control. But I realized this didn’t mean that Santa couldn’t be out and about just outside the North Pole Village, chatting with people in line to keep their spirits up while they waited, now did it?

One year, while I was a Santa-in-residence for the entire Christmas season at a mall in New Hampshire, I decided to give it a try. I took my usual lunch break in the hidden storeroom they kept private for me, but I came out a little earlier than I was expected. I casually wandered over to greet a few of the children in line, hoping no one from the photo company would stop me.

“Are you having a good time at the mall today?” I asked one of the little girls. “That hot dog looks delicious!” I said to another boy.

Before I knew it, I had stopped to have short conversations with scores of different families. A few asked to take their picture with me while they waited, but I gently let them know that I was only supposed to take pictures on the set. Most people accepted that and didn’t press the issue.

To my relief, the photo staff seemed perfectly okay with my having these conversations. I suppose, as long as I didn’t enter the set itself and didn’t leave the mall, they had no problem with a social Santa.

I thought about how frustrated parents and children must feel to be standing in line for forty-five minutes or longer to see Santa, only to be told that Santa would be back in another hour. And of course, parents and their children had to wait around or else they would lose their place in line. So as the days went on, I made it my common practice to eat my lunches and dinners as quickly as I could and then come out to chat with people—both children and adults—always in character as Santa Claus.

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