Monday again.

Hey there,



Well today the weather started out sunny but ended with rain. If this was summer, the grass would be 3ft tall and as green as the commercials say it could be.



Today was slow but steady as the schools are still going for a few more weeks. I was told that there are two school districts in our area. One gets out on December 20 and the other on December 23. If that's the case, the last week before Christmas we will be slammed! But again we do have the weekends. I wish I could describe the looks the parents are going for. Yes, the one you send all the rellies with everyone all proper looking, and the one that hangs on the fridge with the kid screaming. I will admit for the first time that I actually like a picture with a kid screaming his lungs out. The little dude started out good, and I don't know if Burt or Emily scared him, but the picture looked like he had no face...just an open mouth. The parents were thrilled! Plus, they bought a picture package to give to their friends.



Today we also had some of my favorite visitors - adults with disabilities. We had quite a few come in different times of the day. And you know they deserve Santa's love just as much as anybody else. So I spent time with each one touching their hands, arms, and face telling them how special they are...and always thanking them for coming to see me. I don't know if it makes a difference to them, but it does to me, my helpers, and the people watching.



At one point today there was this older gentleman walking toward me with his cane. I stood up out of respect and started to talk with him. He said he was having a hard time and wanted to talk with Santa. He then started to sob. I turned our backs to the helpers and the people standing in line. As I rubbed my hand on his back he told me he just lost his wife and his father. He missed seeing and talking with his dad for the last time by about 5 minutes. Santa helped him as best he could, and gave him some Kleenex to wipe the tears. You know Santa is usually about the kids, but even the adults need Santa too sometimes. I don't know if a Santa was there for him in his past, but one was there for him today. You would be amazed what people tell me.



I want to end tonight by telling you about a small kid who was no more than 6 yrs old. All he wanted (and he said it after he looked around to be certain mom and dad weren't listening) was some food for Christmas. No toys, just food. I asked him if he was hungry right now, and he said, "No, I had potatoes and corn tonight." Kids are not stupid. They know what's going on.



Tonight was kind of a heavy night, and I am sorry about that. But you just can't make this stuff up, and this is what Santa gets from time to time.



God bless, and thank Him for what you have.



Santa

Dress up Sunday?

Happy "last Sunday in November" to you! I hope it was all you expected it to be.

Today, for the first time since the day I arrived, the sun came out from where it was hiding. It was nice and we made it up to 47 degrees. I did learn something new today (Yes it's true, you can teach an old Santa something!) that the winter weather patterns here in central MI are tracked through Duluth, MN (that is Minnesota for you postal types). Which means you will always see the weather for Duluth and how it will affect Grand Rapids. Weird. It was 28 in Duluth today, so guess what it is expected for the high here in two days? ...I'll let you know.

Okay, let's try something new today. I'm going to describe the pictures early so you don't have to wait in anticipation until the end...like you usually do. The first picture is the basic set of where I'm sitting. The trees on either side of the big chair are actually hollow. That's where you saw me in an earlier photo when I was reading a book. The second picture is of my dressing room/broom closet. Each year it is given to the Santa for his exclusive use. The last photo is me with the headphones that I use as ear protection during the light show (that happens 5 times a day) because my head is less than 6" away from the back of one of the speakers blasting Christmas music.

Sometimes it takes a Sunday with nice sunshine to bring out all the well-dressed people to see Santa. Most people came straight to the mall after church today wearing their Sunday best. It was quite fun to see all the little boys dressed up in a shirt and tie, and the girls in dresses and fancy pantsuits. Many had family pictures taken as mom and dad were dressed up too!

Even though it was a short day in the chair, the day was busy with only a few lulls in the action for me to stretch my legs. Tomorrow we are back to long days, so say a little prayer for Santa's stamina.

With that, Santa's going off to bed. Sweet dreams!

Santa

Question? How fast do locust multiply?

To all my bloggers, I say Hello.


I think I need to explain the topic for today. As you remember, yesterday I was saying that people look like locust because there was just a solid movement of people. Well, this being Black Saturday, those locust multiplied! And I didn't know they could go that fast. The parking lot was packed out again. And when I went up to get changed, I looked out at the mall and saw it was just covered with people....at 9AM! So at approximately 10AM, I started my duties in the big chair. We had a line. We had a croud. I could not imagine any more people in that area, but it was just crammed! But as the Dude in the Red Suit, I calmly went and greeted my public and assumed my role in the chair. Until my first break, I had almost 3 hours of solid people. And the amazing thing is that almost every single one of them bought pictures from us. Yahoo!



Here's a little snippet about some of the kids who visited Santa today. I had my first kid this season tell me they did not want to receive a present, but wanted Santa to give their gift to a needy child. And I also had another child who did not to receive a present, but instead wanted Santa to give their gift to a dog shelter. Now I don't know what a dog shelter is going to do with a Barbie Doll House, but I guess it's the thought that counts! And, of course, Michigan is impressing Santa with their 1-2 gift limit requests. I can tell by looking into the children's eyes and seeing how they relate to Santa that they understand the tough economic times we are in and that they do not want to overburden Santa or their parents.



On a fun note, I noticed this couple pushing a long, odd-looking stroller. I just had to walk up to them and say, Hello. I looked in their stroller and saw a beautiful baby boy who was just three weeks old. The dad then pushed back the umbrella and there was baby's identical twin. Oh, and did I mention that they were in identical infant Santa suits? I realized that they were in the wrong area to see Santa and told them that if they went around to the other side, they would be first in line to see ME as there was no line at the moment. They beat feet to the other side and I said, "Oh, look at the twins!" Santa always being the perfect gentleman, did not show any jealousy at the possibility that they looked more cute than ME when we had our picture taken together.



Well, as you probably noticed, there are no pictures today. We were soooo busy today, my helpers did not have time to squeeze any in. We will work harder tomorrow to get some pictures posted for you.



The day starts early again tomorrow, so Santa's off to bed. Good night and sweet dreams!



Santa

Black Friday? More like black locus!

Hello to my lack-of-sleep followers,

How many of you really went out and did the 5am or whatever am today? I really hope none of you as you should know the tricks by now. Almost all stores do the black Friday gag...but here's the rub. They only have 5-10 of that item. That's it. The rest are ONLINE for cyber -Monday or on the website anyway. Santa has seen this gag for to many years and each year somebody gets hurt. I hope everybody is OK. As an example, today the largest chain store had a black Friday sale on a 32" flat screen TV for $199.99. Great price! But the store here only had 3 of the black Friday ones in stock. Amazing!

Everything I heard about the Mall here is true. This morning at 9am there was NO place to park! Good thing I had a ride. When I came in at my assigned time, all I could see was a sea of people like Locus scurrying around. The Mall Security said it started to get bad at midnight. Even the food court opened early. Can you even imagine what that food would do to you at 2am?

On to the important stuff...Me. No rain today just cold and Santa can do cold (to a point). But we had a very steady stream of kids all day. I'm guessing 600 or so total. But remember, we really do not have a good official count as far as I know. But with all the kids and goings on the day went fairly quick. I even got a ride to the hotel tonight, which I am thankful.

Now to the pictures. The first picture is of the gentlemen. Now, I put this here just so you don't think I only taken group pictures with girls. Guys do it to. Santa is nothing unless he is an "Equal Opportunity" fellow. The second picture is of two little girls who wanted to give Santa a hug. Who am I to turn down a hug from two little girls? And yes, it is a perk of the job. And the last picture is of a 4-week old baby girl that just had to come and see The Claus as soon as she possibly could! And, of course, the photo was terrific.

We did have a preemie today. She looked a little big for a preemie, but who am I to say. The thing that sticks out in my mind is that the mother had me "Santa-tize" before holding her for the photo.

Well, I think its time to call it a night.

Santa

Happy Turkey Day.

Are we all sleepy?

Today was a real treat for Santa. I had the day off! That does not happen very often, so I was glad to learn that the mall is closed today. But tomorrow, look out! as the bored kids are looking for something to do. Oh, and its raining again. Just in case you thought I forgot.

I need to stop and thank a couple of people: Mrs. Claus - who each year agrees to let Santa go as she watches over the operations up North, my family at home - as they pitch in and help out, and lastly my crew here - which makes it as easy as possible for me to be Santa.

The photo above is where Santa is resting his head this year. Look for the arrow. That's my room. Oops. The arrow is on the back side of the photo! (hee, hee)

We are back having fun tomorrow!

Santa

Well it rain again.

Hi,

I don't know what my thing is about the weather, but I sure write about it enough. So not to let you down, the weather stinks. Yes, Santa remembered his ride this AM. It was cool out, but nice. When I left after my Santa duties, it was raining so I bundled up - hood and all - and headed to my hotel. Santa got a bit damp, but no worse for wear.

Man, you sure can tell tomorrow is Thanksgiving! The Mall was nuts with people. That's good for Santa because that means more people are looking for "The Claus" to have a picture taken. We had a good line most of the day. Not a long wait to see Santa, but enough to build anticipations. Needless to say, we did not disappoint. Now what is the most asked for Christmas gifts? Barbies, DS, PsP, and every Lego you can think of. The only big things kids are asking for are IPods and Xbox 360's. So nothing too different from last year, except the kids are only asking for 1 or 2 things not 7 or 8. I find that a bit refreshing.

We really have a wide range of people coming to see Santa this year. Of course we have the newborns, or kids that have been too scared to see or be with Santa. But today we had a group of college students from the Middle East who just stood off to the side in amazement. After watching them for awhile, I could not resist going over and asking them if they wanted to see Santa. Well, that was all it took and I had one brave person say "yes." Then the whole group of 5 were trying to get in on the fun. They even asked if one of my helpers (who does all the acrobatics) would be in a picture with them. She looked at me and I said, "Why should I have all the fun?" so she got her picture taken several times. I even let them sit in the "Big Chair." They came up to me afterward and thanked me, told me where they were from, and said they never dreamed someone would go to such extremes for kids. I explained what Santa was and is, and I loved their expressions.

Now to the pictures. One family of kids each gave me their list, so I had to give them the "once over." In the other picture, I am meeting with my fans on a quick break.

So give thanks for what you have tomorrow.

Santa

What rain? Got a bucket...

Hey,

OK, let me see if I can mess this up again, I erased this twice now.

The weather here is something else! Today when I walked to the mall it was 36 degrees and the wind was really blowing. I was dressed for it, and thanked the Lord my jacket had a hood, but the wind was raw. Well, as I was almost to the mall one of my helpers Steve called and said he was 5 min away to pick me up. See the problem? I forgot, and I told him I forgot and was almost in the mall. Steve said he would pick me up every weekday, I think Santa needs to buy some sticky notes! See even I can make an oops.

Today was a good day. I just wish we had a counter because I really would like to know how many kids I am seeing. Some schools had early outs and for others this was the last day for the Thanksgiving holiday break. So as the day went on we picked up. When I was able to stretch my legs I talked with, waved to, or just plain had a good time with the kids....Whats a Santa to do? Plus we now have on Tuesdays and Thursdays special time with Santa (news to me). For example, today we got to ride the Carousel with Santa, then sing Christmas songs, and yes story time with Santa. I picked Santa Mouse. It was a good read. AND for story time, Santa got down to their level...so onto the floor was ole' St. Nick.

Oh, and that was at the start of the day.

This year we are being asked a lot of questions as people are trying to figure us out (as a new Santa company in the mall). We get a lot of "You never allowed that before." and "You never did that before." and the one that gets my blood to boil "How much are you charging this year to talk with Santa?" You should NEVER EVER be charged to talk with Santa. I would never be part of that. People are really pleased to hear all the things we allow for free like talking with Santa, taking a picture with your cell phone, and stuff on that order.

OK folks, its time for pictures!

The one that is sideways (and it is correct on the computer, but not here.?) was Santa yesterday reading Santa Mouse in a hollow Christmas tree. It is kind of a break area for me. The site manager thought it would be cute to show Santa reading on his break. Moving ON, the one above that is one of the many hazards of the job. And yes, I had them take their shoes off. But as that Santa in me says...anything for the customer. The one above that is Ole St. Nick at story time. The one next to that is one of the perks of the job! The little boy wanted a hug from Santa and did not want to let go. He was so cute!

Well, I am off to bed, sleep tight and get your copy of Santa Mouse and Santa Mouse two, its on Santa's best read list. Hey if Oprah can, I can.

Night,

Santa

As we close on a Monday.

Hello to you all,





First, please review my past entries for this year's blog. Some changes were made to protect the innocent (ME).

Right now it is 53 degrees outside with buckets of rain coming down! We had a high 70 if you can believe that, but the real news is the rain. We had rain of every description today and it's not going to stop until tomorrow after noon. I think I may need a boat instead of a sleigh. I did remind people, however, that if the rain was SNOW, we'd have 7-8' of the white stuff.

Today was a really long day if I say so myself. Due to the weather the number of kids was artificially low because moms do not want to go out in this stuff either. Even so, it was a great training day for my assistants/helpers. A large number of parents just wanted to stroll their kids by Santa to see how they would react. I think this is a great idea. Then when they come back, they are more comfortable with the "dude in the red suit."

OK, here's one for all you followers (and you know who you are). A mom wanted me to have pictures taken with her two children. I knew something was up as soon as they walked up to me; I could just smell it. I put the first kid on my right knee, and the mom was going to plop the second child on my left. I grabbed the child and was lifting him as she was putting him down, I kept lifting, and she kept wanting him on my knee. Then she looked at me. I looked her square in the eyes and then looked down. She looked down and then lifted him up. He pooed his pants and it was going down his leg through the jeans. She saw my point and rushed him off while I talked with the other child and watched the father standing there wondering about what just happened.

Now for those of you that don't know, if I got one drop of that on me the whole process stops and I have to leave. I have to get out of those pants/clothing as fast as I can, and they go straight to the cleaners after I spot clean them. If I don't have the right piece of replacement clothing, I have to leave the mall to get new/clean clothing. Now just so you know, I always carry extra of everything except for my coat and hat. So as you can see, it's a BIG DEAL if Santa gets soiled even a little. But as they say, "no harm, no foul."

I will be sharing pictures tomorrow.

Keep smiling,

Santa Joe

Hey it's Sundae.

Hi there my little followers,

Thank you to the first person who signed in. There will be something extra by your Droid this Christmas. Yes, I know, I know. I purposefully chose the "wrong" spelling of Sunday.

Today was a good day for the most part. We are still working out the bugs, but things are getting better. I just wish I could get my computer repair elf down here, but I am sure she is busy at home. Santa did go out and purchase a new ear piece for my end of the the wireless system. We are trying out a new communication system so I can be better informed on what going on around me.

We had a good showing today for pictures, the line was never longer than about a 10 minute wait and we sold a good number of photos. We do not have a way to count the number of kids I see with the new system. Sorry for that. I would like to know the numbers also. So if I somehow get some numbers, I will let you know.

I hope everyone back a the North Pole is getting along with the ice storm and snow for Monday afternoon. Here it is 53 degrees, but we expect a lot of rain for Monday. Good thing Santa does not melt. I could, you know, because I'm sooo sweet.

I'm off to slumber early tonight because 6:30 AM comes REALLY early here in MI - before breakfast!

So be good. Okay, well at least try.

Santa Joe

The Big Show.

Hey there! Glad you stopped by!

Yes, the title is correct. We are "officially" underway. So look out Grand Rapids there's a new Santa in town.

If I were to say that on the first day they had everything up and running at full speed with no problems, I would be a fibbing and a tad more. We had them ALL except one...and that would be ME. I was flawless, if I do say do myself. The "big guy" went off without a hitch.

But when the grand opening started up at 6pm, I was impressed. I mean, they know how to put on a show! The lights, the music...and the crowd was into it! It was something to see, that's for sure. Then I was introduced. When I came out from behind the curtain I could not see the end of all the people, there were thousands. After I shook hands with a bunch of the kids, I took my place in the Big Chair.

I think it was about after 15-20 photos when this cute little girl in a beautiful outfit came up, jumped on my leg, and blew wind sooo bad that I almost lost it. She would have embarrassed a sailor. And the smell! I could hardly talk to her. The only thing that came to mind was "She must have ate in the food court." lol. The very next thought was "Oh, please don't wipe me out tonight." But she took a good picture anyway.


So with that lovely image in your head, I will say good night for tonight.

Good night!
Santa Joe

Hey it's Friday.

Hi,

Here's a few things I've observed so far while here in MI.

1. They predict the weather just as good as back home!
2. They can turn Left on Red. Really!
3. Stop signs are Yields.
4. There are no Yields.
5. Pedestrian's are fair game, whether they're in the crosswalk or not; or even if they have the lighted walk sign.
6. MI has an over population of geese, or at least what they leave behind. (It's everywhere)
7. If you have a truck, SUV, or something just plain big, you can have a (police) lightbar on your roof.

As you can see, I've added some photos. Cool, right?

The photos are as follows.

There is a picture of my puppy, Penny. (You can guess which picture.) One of the red and gold ribbons flowing from the ceiling along the main corridors in the Mall. The picture of the Carousel is right by my set. The last one is many strings of lights hung from the ceiling going down 3 floors. They put up over 217,000 lights, 11 Christmas trees, 100's of Strobe lights and everything is in sync with 2000 watts of music, and ONE Santa. Don't worry, I can handle it. They are expecting between 13-15,000 people at 6pm Saturday for the BIG grand opening.

Well, the real fun starts soon...

I will have much more tomorrow, and hopefully a video if I can figure how to make it work.

Pray for Santa, the pressure is really on now.

Santa Joe

Here we go, I think?

Good day to you all,

If I may, I'd like to make a small request. PLEASE sign in when viewing my blog. Otherwise, I think I am writing this just for me, and I'm hoping there are a few more readers than just Mrs. Claus and myself. Plus, I would make sure you're on the right list. if you know what I mean.

A funny thing happened on the way to the Mall.... A lady driving by stops, gets out of her car and yells "I know you! You're the Santa on TV for the Mall." I said yes, gave her a Santa wave and she drove off. Now if you think that is the only one that came up to me today your wrong. It happened THREE times while walking to the Mall, and couple more times inside. What's strange is that all the spotting of the "big guy" has been from adults and really nothing from the kids. Sure I get the stares and the finger pointing, and I always give a Santa wave. My public awaits, and I do not disappoint!

Oh, I promised a story on why I was in New York. Well, as this is a new adventure for Parker3D to work with a Santa, they wanted me to come to their international HQ to meet the big bosses and have a brain storming session. Mine was more like a drizzle. But it was good and progress was made. They showed me the completed commercial and I must say I was impressive, but my humility stops me from bragging (Santa is nothing if not humble).

Well another long day tomorrow, but I will be back.

Santa Joe

And so it starts.

Good Day to you!



Today was as they say...ZOOM. I caught my flight with Troolin Air at 8am and am on my way to Grand Rapids. I was able to get first class at no upgrade fee, which is unheard of, but hey I'm not above sitting in the front (the wing is too cold). The gentleman I was sitting next to kept me laughing. I think he must have been a first timer or something, he looked nervous, but I kept him calm. That is who I am! It was a great flight and we landed at 1:04pm...only 4 min tardy. My ride from Parker 3D was there to pick me up so off to the hotel we went.



If you would like my address, call or email Mrs. Claus. I do accept gifts, money and gift cards.



Now you're wondering "who is Parker 3D, and why are they picking up the Claus?" They are the company that hired me this year. If you would like to see some of their work, go to www.parker3d.com and click around. I was impressed and I think you will be to.



Parker3D asked me to come out a day early to look things over and take part in a dress rehearsal. Sounded good to me. When I got here, they asked if I would be okay not doing the rehearsal tonight as the elves/assistants needed more training. Santa's flexible, so I said "whatever works." But I want to be there tomorrow and walk the mall to get the feel. Well, who said God is not in control? As I was unpacking I found out I forgot ALL my diabetic shots at home! I called Mrs. Claus and explained I goofed (okay, mess up). I also called my drug store which has a branch 2 1/2 locks away to see if they can help out Santa. It turns out they came through for me and gave me some med's, and Mrs. Claus rushed home, rushed to the Post Office for them to overnight the med's that they would only guarantee would arrive no later than 3pm Friday. Now today is Wednesday so what happened to Thursday? I think the Post Office lost it...LOL. Okay, Santa be nice.



I have met a lot of really nice people so far. Some even said they saw my commercial on TV. Oh, did I forget to tell you? I did a commercial for Parker3D as a promotional piece for them. The mall big shots liked it so much, they are running it as advertising for the Mall's Christmas program. Kind of exciting!


Then there was the trip to NY for them too, but that's a story for another day.


Be good. I'm watching and so is the reason for the season.



Santa Joe

The last from Last year...I hope.

Hello to my favorite blog followers!

I bet you are wondering what happened with my blogging from last year. I will attempt to explain. As you followed along, you could probably tell that I was getting sicker and sicker and on the 23rd I was miserable to say the least. I could not breathe, lay down or sit, let alone sleep. My medical plan has a 24hr help line. I called and was advised to go the hospital where I would be admitted at least over the weekend because IF I had what they thought, I might not be able to take care of myself appropriately in a hotel room. However, I could always go home, and be admitted to the hospital there.

Okay. Think about it. If you were going to be in the hospital, would you rather be in your home town or in the far away city of Harrisburg PA? I chose home. With the help from family, I was able to get the first flight out. I called Bass Pro and explained why I could not continue.

When I arrived home, my cell phone was melting from all the calls! Mrs. Claus took me straight to the clinic from the airport and this is what the doctor's diagnosis was. I had H1N1, which turned into double Metastatic Pneumonia with a double ear infection to boot! I was also extremely contagious - so NO seeing any kids. They did gave me a choice: stay in the hospital or go home and not leave until I came back in on Monday for a re-check. I chose home.

I tried to talk with Bass Pro, but they were too angry (as if I had any control over becoming contagious). My Santa boss was way more understanding on the phone, and shared that I was NOT the only Santa to go down that week.

I received many more calls, and I just asked Mrs. Claus to handle it as I needed to pass out. I did help Bass Pro get out of a jam, and Mrs. Claus forwarded special instructions that a child had shared with me about their Christmas wish.

So here are the final numbers for 2009. I had over 11,000 pictures taken with over 26,000 people through my lap (and you wonder why I got so sick). This year Bass Pro "went in a different direction" which means a different Santa and the Harrisburg Mall (which had a Santa for almost forever) stopped having one starting this year as they lost too much money competing against me. I wonder what they are thinking now?

SO starting November 17, I will be in Grand Rapids MI at the RiverTown Crossings Mall. I flew out to see the mall and found it is large and very impressive.

I will start Blogging more each day and please ask questions.

God Bless.

Santa Joe