Santa Shout out to Angela

Hello my friends,

Well today was full of fun little things and I would like to share a couple of them. But first the Shout out...

Santa's Shout Out is to Angela, our head keeper of the helpers for the last 40+ days. Today was her last day with the group, as she is heading home to Atlanta GA, Thursday AM. What can I say? She has been our den mother, mother, fixer, e-mailer, problem solver, problem taker on'er, and best of all - friend. She has helped Santa in many ways...too many to mention. I will miss her tough Italian exterior, but soft kind heart. She many be only 5 ft tall, but I don't know anybody that can take her. Santa will miss her.

OK, enough of that stuff and on to the cute stuff. Today we had a group of 3 blind teenagers visit Santa. As we all know, they got to "see" Santa with their hands when they were done telling him what they wanted for Christmas. Each of them got a chance to touch my face and beard. The girl asked her mom if it was really real (my beard) and mom touched it and yes it was. (See photo above.) Permission was granted for me to post this photo by the mother.

Next, a little boy came up and gave Santa a present all wrapped up and told me I could not open it until Christmas, which I thought was hilarious as that is what I say. The mom asked me after all the normal Santa stuff why I did not open the gift. I told her, and she laughed and asked him if he really said it? He responded with a wide grin, "Yes!" Mom said I can open it any time I want. So I did, and it was a token for a free ride on the mall's Carousel. How cute was that!

Oh, and the other picture shows somebody who I think I lost a bet.

Well off to the land of slumber...

Santa

Another one Down

Now I don't know if Santa's stuck in a pattern, but each morning I stop down at the mall offices and use their private restroom to make sure I look fabulous. As it just so happens, about week ago the office manager started a countdown. Each morning after she says how many days are left, I do a little dance that we affectionately call "The Santa Boogie." Angela wants me to do it during one of our entertainment breaks, but I think I might decline. Santa, however, does have rhythm (I didn't say that it was good or bad, just that I have it.)



For all of you web geeks out there, there are three different videos of our Flash Mob yesterday. One of them shows dancers on the lower level underneath the atrium dancing to the music.



Today Santa received a small box of assorted candy from a little seven year old girl. She was adorable as she said, "Here, Santa, this is for you!" I shared the candy with all my helpers and they thought it was great.



Also today, a little brother and sister gave me some food for Rudolph - pretzel rods with bird seed "glued" on with a sticky substance. They looked yummy and Rudolph loved them! After I chatted with this brother and sister, mom and dad knelt down next to me and said, "Did you ask Santa the question?" The little girl asked in her little toddler voice, "Do you want cookies or cake on Christmas, Santa?" I stroked my beard like I was deep in thought and I said, "Cake!" Mom said, "That's great because we have a lot of birthdays around Christmas." So I'm guaranteed cake at at least one of my stops. Yes!



Make sure you get plenty of rest, so you have enough strength to open Santa's gifts!


Nighty night,


Santa

Down to a Handful

Hey there, my blog followers -



Today we were visited by a Flash Mob during the supper hour. It was amazing! The Flash Mob tapped into our sound system and sang a wonderful traditional Christmas song. The crowd stopped and watched. Some joined in. And a great round of applause was given when they were done. As a "thank you" they then sang "Jingle Bells." We even shut down the Santa set to watch.



One cute moment was when five little girls came all dressed up wearing matching outfits to their American Girl dolls and had their pictures taken with Santa. It was quite fun!



We also had 20 moms come in for a group picture. They were all dressed up and belonged to a scrapbooking club. They all wanted Cricuts for Christmas!



As we near Christmas Day, my blogs will get shorter as the days get longer...but hopefully tomorrow I will be able to post new pictures.


Sweet dreams,



Santa

Last Sunday Before Christmas...

It was the last Sunday before Christmas and all through the house, nothing was stirring. Not even a mouse. And why do your wondering eyes banter? 'Cuz everyone's all at the mall seeing Santa! (After they went to church, of course.) All the little kids warmed my heart and gave me a big smile on my face, but the line only grew instead of dissipate.



Okay, okay. I'll stop. Nothing's worse than Santa waxing poetics...



A little girl, with missing teeth, actually told me that she really would like her two front teeth for Christmas! And what did I say? "I'll put a good word in with the Tooth Fairy for you." I asked her if she ever heard the song and she said, "Yes! and I'm sick of it!" as she looks at her parents. (Who were chuckling) :o)



I was told that we did about 1400 pictures yesterday. Today I'm guessing we did about 1100. My knees are no longer sore, because they are numb. I wish I could say the same for my butt. It's just plain sore! Mrs. Claus needs to make Santa a donut...



Have a great Sunday evening. Say a prayer for Santa before going to sleep, that his energy level and stamina stays with him for the remainder of the week.



Nighty night!



Santa

First of the Last

As you can imagine, this is the first "last full Friday" working as Santa this year as next Friday is Christmas Eve...and Santa doesn't have to explain what happens on Christmas Eve.


There's only six days left to find out what EVERY boy and girl wants Santa to bring them so a LOT of kids made sure they saw Santa today! A couple of kids wanted sewing machines, but the "big 4" are still Barbie, Legos, Pillow Pets, and remote conrolled anything.



Santa had a couple of interesting kids today, plus one VERY expectant mother-to-be. Let's start with her. She walks up to Santa in a floor-length velvet red dress, waddling like a duck. When she got about 5 feet away from me she said, "I'm not going to sit on your lap because I don't want my water to break." Good plan! She could stand wherever she wanted to take the picture. I was quite concerned on how she was walking that the baby was due any second. But she said the baby was not due until the 1st.

Now onto the little girls. One little girl (age 3) sat on my lap, looked around the room, turned to face me and then pulled my glasses off throwing them half way across the room to the camera man. The mom was very apologetic and said, "Oh, I should have told you that she likes to grab things." Sooooo, for the next few photographs, I was talking pictures with little hand prints all over my spectacles.



Another little girl was extremely hesitant to see Santa and making her displeasure known loudly and wildly to her father. The father was holding the girl rather loosely, and at that moment, in front of Santa and all of his crew, she kicked her dad right in his sugar plums...and all the guys working went "Owooooo" as dad went to his knees. For some reason the little girl did not make it all the way up to see Santa...as daddy limped off the set and mommy dragged the little girl by her hand down the hall back to the car.



Now just as a coincidence, I had a rather obnoxiously teething toddler with grandma and grandpa come and see Santa today. To say the kid drools, was an understatement! Both grandma and grandpa wanted to be in the picture (which was fine), but right before the picture was taken grandpa said, "Oh, we need to wipe his face." Just at that moment, Hoover Dam opened up and all three of us ended up being covered in drool! It was disgusting! Well, grandpa quick got a burp bib to wipe off our hands and the kid's face. I quickly grabbed the hand sanitizer next to my chair. After we snapped the picture, three bottles of hand sanitizer came out of NO WHERE for Santa to use! Santa was safely sanitized before seeing the next child. (Thanks!)



Santa's going to take advantage of the extra two hours of sleep tomorrow morning and try to stretch it out into more by going to bed early tonight, so nighty night!



Santa

6:45 AM - I get to sleep in tomorrow!

Today lived up to all expectations and Santa was again 100% correct. People were hovering around the Santa set an hour before "show time." I did come out for my command performance 10 minutes early...to help out the little kiddos.


Santa would like to do a special shout out to my helper CHECK (Pedro). When I went on lunch break, CHECK brought the whole crowd in to the Santa set and read them stories until I got back. The crowd loved it. That-a-boy, CHECK, I trained you well!


Just in case you're wondering, there are only 7 shopping days left before Christmas...and Santa takes a 2XLT. For specific gifts ideas, contact Mrs. Claus. :o)



Let me share about a couple of kids I met today:


A family came to see Santa and I asked each one of them what they wanted for Christmas. The little boy told me he wanted a truck and a remote control helicopter (which is really, really popular). About 10 minutes later, the mom brings him back and he is just sobbing! He forgot to tell me that he also wanted a Transformer. I wiped away his tears and thanked him for coming back to see Santa, and told him that I will make a special note to try to remember the Transformer. Magically, he then became the happiest boy in the mall!


A little girl (approximately 7-8 years old) came bounding up to me when it was her turn and we chatted a little bit. I asked her what she wanted for Christmas and she said she wanted a pony. Well, surprisingly, I get asked for a pony at least twice or more a day. I always look at the parents for their reaction. Usually, the parents are laughing because they live in an apartment, etc. and I have to try to talk the kids away from the pony. I say something like, "You can't have a pony in your bedroom." Well, tonight with this little girl guess what? She asked for a pony. I was just about to tell her about not being able to keep a pony in her bedroom...and her dad gave me a "thumbs up." Well I thought maybe I interpretted the dad's signal wrong or he overheard incorrectly, so I told the little girl that I would see if it was possible and asked her what else she wanted. At that point the father leaned over and whispered in my ear that they own a horse farm. So she's getting a pony from Santa (grandma and grandpa)!




As you can imagine, Santa needs his beauty sleep. (Not much, you understand.) But I still need my rest because Santa is WONDERFUL all the time. :o)



Sweet dreams!



Santa

Release the Hounds!

Yesterday I said that I would show you the new look of Santa. What do you think? There are two photos of the "new look," a photo of the mall management office staff with Santa, and a photo of the cutest little girl who came in her pj's to have breakfast with Santa. (I'll talk about that more a little later.)

The workshop Santa look is a big hit in Grand Rapids. The people really like it, the photo people encouraged me to go with it, and the mall management loves it. Plus, it's much more comfortable. So this continues the theme of "firsts" for this year. Please send me your opinions of this new look.



Today was a VERY nice day weather wise. It was bright and sunny with no wind. And even though it was only in the upper 20's we had droves of people coming to the mall. To start the day, we had "Breakfast with Santa!" I thought this was going to happen on Saturday, and my helpers also thought the breakfast was on Saturday. (Unfortunately, this makes it the 5th time Santa has been wrong.) Needless to say, we did not have breakfast prepared for the eight kiddos who showed up. Instead we punted and read stories to the kids, sang songs, took rides on the carousel, and had special pictures with Santa. Luckily, Santa was able to save the day for those eight little kiddos!



I hope everyone is having a wonderful time getting their last minute shopping done. And I hope you brought your kids to see Santa's helpers before the last week of Christmas as these last 7 days are the busiest of the entire season!



It's early dismissal from school tomorrow for Christmas break where I am! Tomorrow's going to be GREAT!



Sweet dreams,



Santa

Second to the Last Tuesday

A warm Santa greeting to you all!



Well, I'm sure you are all wondering...after a wonderful night's sleep, I'm back to my jolly ol' self. A relief to everyone I met today, including myself!



Today in Grand Rapids it was a cool day, but very sunny - a nice change from the gloom we have been having. There must have been a lot of people who agreed with me because starting at 10am, we had a constant stream of kiddos the rest of the day. Of course, the majority come after school is let out for the day.



The mall started something new today. They are now taking surveys of customers as they stand in line, and after they are done seeing Santa. If you complete the survey, you get $5. The survey is about their experience with the light show, performers, Santa, helpers, everything the experience entails. Well, I thought it was a one-day survey. But I found out that it will continue straight through Christmas Eve. (And we can chalk it up that Santa has been wrong officially 4 times now.)



As I am called a few times each day, "Papa Noel" (what Santa Claus is called in Spanish) he wants you to know that tomorrow I will have a new look. So stand by...


Signing off for now, Papa Noel says, "Good night!"

Almost Only Two Handfuls

Howdy!



Okay, let me first start by saying Santa is NOT in the right frame of mind to be typing a blog today...let alone sucking oxygen. These long days and short nights are starting to grate on me. I can officially say that I have a BA (and it's not a Bachelor of Arts). But NO ONE could tell because "the Dude in the Red Suit" is nothing but professional!



A lot of newborn babies saw Santa today for some reason. When I say newborn, I mean less than one month old. It might have something to do with the sunny weather today and no wind, but I don't know. Could also have something to do with Christmas being just around the corner.



The photo with the 25 or so big shots from the office and maintenance went off without a hitch this morning, and I was in my full Santa regalia from my hat on my head, gloves on my hands, down to my shiny black boots. Everyone left with a free picture in their hand and a big smile on their face.



Last night's blog mentioned things that drive me a little crazy. I have a new one tonight. (Big surprise!) Santa being kissed without being asked. The problem is that I CANNOT react...and it happened twice today. I understand when little kids are excited to see Santa and they want to give him a big hug and a little peck on the cheek. But when ADULTS do it, it's unwelcomed. You think they should at least ask, but no!



So after reviewing my notes on this blog today, I find it would be a very wise decision to go to bed early so I can have a bright, cheerful day tomorrow on the INSIDE as well as on the outside. (Yeah!)


Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz



Santa

Ahhhh! Monday

Hello all you bloggers!


Today we saw approximately 200 groupings of kiddos and our numbers are continuing to grow every day. At least it was not the "mad push" like it has been for the last three days. It was a very pleasant rest for the very tired crew. Everyone was able to get caught up on much needed paperwork and inventory. Then we found out that the local school district had a snow day today. I did NOT snow, but they said the roads were slippery. Personally, I think the teachers needed a day off...before they go on vacation.


Santa is going to ask again for some good thoughts and prayers from you as I strained my back lifting a kid today. The kid was so overweight, she even broken one of my Santa boots. Thank goodness for black Duct tape for the boot, but my back will need more than a Band-Aid.


As you can see, I added some pictures today. They are from the last couple of days with me and some of my admirers. Enjoy!



One thing that's been happening during the week that is quite enjoyable, is that almost daily a group home (or two, or three) come in with their clients to meet Santa. I hope that continues to happen almost every single day. The group home supervisor takes pictures of the clients with me and we do not charge them because of the great service they do!



Now, you've heard me talk about twins and triplets. Today I had my very first group of quads - three boys and a girl. They were 7 years old. It was really freaky because they could finish each other's sentences. Needless to Santa, they were adorable. And they each wanted an IPod Touch.


Well, Santa's off to bed as it's going to be an early day tomorrow. The entire mall staff is going to have their picture with Santa before the mall officially opens. I'm guessing it's going to be 20-25 people.


Nighty night!



Santa

I Love Sundays

Happy Sunday to you.


I got to sleep in...but some kiddos were in line at the mall for an hour before I even got there. Now that's dedication to The Claus!


Santa set a new personal record today of having a 3-day old infant seeing Santa for the first time. The old record was a 4-day old. Santa kind of thinks this record is going to stick for awhile.


Every year I mention in my blogs about the weird and torcherous things parents do to their kids...like the screaming toddler picture that seems like a "must have" which you all know drives Santa crazy! But I think a new low was set today. Not only in the number of screaming toddlers, but for the most weird, obscure, name given to a little boy. And, believe it or not, this sweet 4-year old's name was Lucifer. I even asked the mother and the boy if I heard the name right...and they said yes. That's going to be one tough little boy. Santa also saw a little girl (approximately 7 years old) whose name was "Happy." Who said people in Grand Rapids don't have a sense of humor?


As you can tell from my first paragraph, we started off the day VERY busy. But surprisingly, the last half hour was really quiet. Inbetween the two, it was CONSTANT KIDS of all ages. (I found out yesterday that I am very popular on Facebook! And from what I hear, I'm everywhere as parents show friends the pictures of their kids with Santa.)



Santa is surprised that even with a couple extra hours of sleep and a short shift today, he is almost more tired than a "normal" day. I guess it's not that odd considering how many working days I have in a row. I am soooo excited that we are now officially doing the count down for the "Twelve Days of Christmas."


Santa wants to pose a couple of questions. Have my blog followers seen any of the videos on You Tube or my commercial for the mall (www.santasmagicalmusical.com)? If you like the commercial, feel free to leave comments about how great Santa is!


Since Santa is tuckered out, he's going to say good night. I will post pictures tomorow.



Santa

North Pole Snowed In!

Hey there!


As the song says, "...the weather outside is frightful!" After plowing out Santa's runway twice today back at the North Pole, the snowbanks are up to the elves' eye brows...and that's in the plowed part. Thank goodness for heavy equipment! I never knew Mrs. Claus was so handy with a snow plow. :o


Today it seemed like we were the #1 place for kids to be. From the moment I started until the mall closed, it was constant kids. Since we don't have an accurate count machine, Santa's best guess is that there were 550+ groupings of kiddos were on my lap. I'm starting to think that there's more kids in Michigan than there are in Pennsylvania!


Keeping with the theme of "odd" requests for presents from Santa, I had a little girl today ask for a lollipop. I asked her if she wanted a bag of lollipops. "Nope." she said. "Just one." So now the basic price for a Christmas gift is down to 50 cents. In case you're wondering how the trend is shifting, more and more kids are asking for Pillow Pets, La La Lucy's, and of course, Legos and Barbies are still the front-runners.


As most of you know, Saturdays mean one thing - Santa gets to sleep in on Sunday morning. I plan to take FULL advantage of it tonight by hitting the sheets early! So to all my blog-followers at the North Pole, I say "Lift with your legs and not with your back. Borrow a snowblower when you can. And remember, it's easier to shovel 6" twice, than a foot once."


With that in mind, good night. Talk with you tomorrow.



Santa

Is "slammeded" a Word?

Hi!


Just in case you were wondering, Santa was not an Engligh major in college. So don't give me any grief on the title. But really, is "slammeded" a word?


It's a good thing that Santa is feeling better because after today I can barely walk. The day started off inocently enough with a nice, quiet, slow entry to the day but by 4pm we did almost 200 units - which is almost double from the day before. THEN I came off my lunch break! The line was formed! According to the guy that keeps the data (his nickname is "the Devil is in the details") he informed me at the end of the day that Santa had someone in his lap constantly except for one 3 1/2 minute time span - not including the 5-minute light show breaks. It don't know how many people I saw, but it was in the 100's.



The helpers commented that they don't know how I do it keeping a fresh, happy face when going through all those kids. It seems like I make each kid feel special. But, of course, that's why I'm the "Dude in the Red Suit" and "The Claus."



As a number of schools had their last day of school for the year today, more districts will be having their last day of school in the middle of next week. It's busy, busy, busy!



Sorry there are no pictures tonight. I forgot my camera in my dressing room. Don't worry, Santa has the only key (except for maintenance, security, and some other people). I say this because I locked myself out this morning. (Oops! That's the first time that ever happened.)



Well, it's bed-y-bye time for Santa. Sweet dreams. Have fun with ALL of the new snow at the North Pole!



Santa

One's funny, Two's just CRAZY

I want to update everybody on the health of Santa. Santa is doing very, very well with his diabetes behaving itself and his cold gone to just a few sniffles, but Santa's back is hurting from ALL of the kids he's seeing. All-in-all, I'm normal. Thanks for all of your prayers!



About the topic at hand. Remember the little boy and the Kleenex box? Well, get a load of this one. Santa has been seeing a very steady stream of kids today. So, I might not be too quick on the uptake, but I do notice when an odd request for a gift comes in. Like a girl wanting a yo yo - first one today. Another little boy came in today, looked at me with all honesty and said he would like a candy bar for Christmas. I said, "Excuse Santa, but I did not hear you. Can you repeat what you said?" He responded, "I want a candy bar." I asked him what kind of candy bar. At that point, I looked at the mom and she put her hands up saying, "I don't know." The little boy then said, "What do you mean, Santa?" "Well, do you want a Hershey bar or a Milky Way? What kind of candy bar do you want?" And with all seriousness that a 5 year can do, with his arms and hands outstretched and the look of amazement on his face, he said in the clearest voice I heard all day, "Santa, I just want CHOCOLATE for Christmas!"


Well, at that point, Santa lost it. I tried to keep my composure, but I just couldn't. I leaned back in my Santa Chair and just roared in laughter. My helpers were laughing, the mom was laughing, and the kids was wondering what was going on. The boy's expression was just hillarious! I don't know what's going on, but gifts are getting cheaper. We've gone from a box of Kleenex to a $1.00 candy bar. What a great year for parents!



Oh! Guess what Santa got today? Usually Santa has to give the gifts, but today Santa received a gift. Santa got a sleigh bell and it says, "Joe Believes." (That reference goes back to "Santa Express.")



Today was very busy, but nothing will compare to this weekend and the two weeks following as school lets out for Christmas break tomorrow at 4pm (or 1600 hours for your pilot types). So Santa expects big long lines and lots of kids starting Friday night and going forward. We saw almost 300 groups of kids just today.



Let's talk about pictures! The pictures above are basically self-explanatory so I'm not going to say which is which...and I'm confident that my loyal followers will be able to understand. One group is of all my female helpers, another is of all my male helpers. There's a picture of one person all by himself. His name is Bert (Ed) who's a look-alike for Kelsey Gramer (Frazier).


Hey, if you want to see Santa at work, I have four videos on You Tube. Check them out!



Sweet dreams!



Santa

It's BIG SHOT Wednesday...

Good evening!



I need to update you on an item I forgot from yesterday. On Tuesday, it was "tour day" from general managers across the country to visit other corporate malls that are owned by GGP. So we received BIG SHOT visitors from Florida, Salt Lake City, and Texas...just to name a few. I say this as a segue to the happenings we had today.



Let's start off with today's title. Today was "visitor's day" from corporate headquarters in Chicago checking out the Santa set and the mall. Knowing that the BIG SHOTS were coming, we had some extra people working the afternoon shift to help entertain the public...and them...while things were happening around the Santa set. To make a short story long, things went very well. Everybody got a picture with Santa in his Big Chair and they boarded their charter bus back to Chicago. Santa answered many questions on many subjects and was his normal brilliant self.



Now, let's talk about kids. I had a little boy today - probably all of 7 years old - jump with excitement into Santa's lap. When I asked him what he wanted for Christmas, he said with all sincerity in his heart and his eyes big and wide, "I want a box of Kleenex!" I looked at him and said, "What?" "I want a box of Kleenex!" I asked him what else he wanted. He responded, "I want a box of Kleenex." I looked at his mom and she said that he has been asking for a box of Kleenex for Christmas for the past two weeks! The mom just shrugged her shoulders and said with a laugh, "That's all he wants." I looked at the mom, then the boy, and said, "What? Puffs aren't good enough?" which got a laugh out of the mom and a look of confusion out of the boy...and more than a chuckle out of me. I gave him a pat on the back and said, "I think this is one Christmas gift I can guarantee that you are probably going to get. I hope you enjoy it!"
With a BIG grin on his face, he said, "THANK YOU, SANTA!" and hopped off my lap to get his coloring book and sticker.



Santa doesn't know the significance of the Kleenex but is wondering if he wants to practice for the show "Minute to Win It." (ha, ha, ha)



Well, that's enough little gems for tonight. I know I promised pictures, but Santa is very tired. Hopefully, I can get the pictures posted tomorrow. (They are going to be of my helpers.)


Just for those keeping track, yes the numbers are increasing every day of how many kids Santa gets to see. Talk to ya later!


Santa

You would not believe it!

Hello my friends,



All right, let's just say I was just a tad freeked out. Remember yesterday when I talked about triplets and twins? Well get this one. The very first person to see Santa was a family of triplets! I mentioned to the mom my observations and she was really not surprised to my seeing a lot of twins, but was very happy to hear about the triplets. Are you impressed? Santa is.



Today was an emotional day! Santa's helpers like to get little tidbits of information for Santa while talking with people who are waiting in line. One of my helpers came up to me and whispered that when I talk to the next little girl, ask about "the bell." Well, I assumed that it was about the bell from Tom Hanks' movie "Santa Express." Santa could not have been more wrong!



The little girl was an 11 or 12 year old who sat on my knee and a woman sat on the floor right in front of us. (Now the person sitting on the floor is not too uncommon because they want to be close enough to hear what the kids are asking Santa for.) So, the girl asked how Santa was and I said that I was fine. Then I asked, "How's the bell?" Well, she looked at me with a big smile on her face and said, "You remember me!" and I said, "Sure." She said, "Do you remember what the bell was for?" And I honestly told her, "No, I do not remember." She said, "Well, can I tell you about it?" I said, "Sure."

"Last year when I came to see you, my mom was diagnosed with cancer and given three months to live. You gave me the bell to ring every time I was scared, or anytime I wanted to know that Santa would be listening or if I needed Santa's help."

"Did you ring the bell a lot?"

"Every day." (The person on the floor added that she would ring it at the middle of the night, at doctor's appointments, and any time she was scared or worried about her mom.)


Well, looking at the woman on the floor, she was starting to tear up. So I quickly looked at the girl and she said, "You know Santa, you really helped me." I said, "Well that's what Santa is for." She said, "You also helped my mom." I responded, "I did?" She said, "Yes, you helped my mom and you helped me. I prayed every time I rang the bell for my mom to get better and not be sick anymore." And then the little girl got a BIG smile on her face and looked at me right in the eyes and said, "Santa, that's my mom on the floor and she is now 100% cancer free! It's because of praying, ringing the bell, and asking for your help."


Well, needless to say, mom was crying...the girl was crying...and Santa was crying. I thanked her for telling me about her mom and told her that I was glad I could help. I asked her if she still had the bell and she said, "Yes, I have it hanging on my wall in my bedroom and I still ring it once in awhile when I get really scared." At that point, I gave her a big Santa hug, her mom a big Santa hug, then we all three had a big Santa hug!


It took Santa quite a few minutes to compose himself before seeing any more kids. Needless to say, moments like these are the reasons why people like me become Santas!



Have a great night!



Santa

Finally - A Normal Day!

Good day to you!


Today starts the 3rd LAST Monday for my time here in Grand Rapids...or 19 days, if you're counting. I am glad to say that today people's attitudes were back to "normal." Kids were cheerful and happy for the most part and their parents behaved themselves. Also, keeping with yesterday's theme of the water...we had two more sets of twins today. One set was my very first customers of the day.


A little inside nugget - by far, the most popular name for girls is Isabelle and the most popular name for boys is Nick.


This week will be very unique because the mall I'm in is on the "tour" Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. This mall is owned by General Growth Properties and their general managers from all across the US are coming to see the set up here. They are visiting other unique sites across the US as well during this "tour." So Santa and his crew are going to be on their best behavior.


Because of the VIPs coming tomorrow, Santa is going to go to bed early tonight. I promise that there will be pictures tomorrow.



Santa

What Got in the Water?

Hello to my fellow blog followers!


Santa started off the day by sleeping in. It was a WELCOMED rest.



I'm feeling much, much better today. Almost 800% out of my normal 1000% - my cold is almost gone. So thanks again for your prayers.



I don't know if it is the water...or that we actually had sunshine here today...but people aren't used to it. From the time we opened up, people were darn right cranky! They were cranky to the helpers and cranky to Santa about every little thing you could think of. However, they were not cranky because of Santa. Santa was the good listening ear for them. For the first time, Santa had to "quietly" exit the building at the end of the day because he didn't want anyone else to bend his ear.



It was very nice to see all of the kids again dressed up in their Sunday best! And back on this water thing...I had TWO sets of triplets today and at least a dozen sets of twins. And, yes! Santa can hold triplets with no problem! They don't call me "the Talent" for nothing.




It was kind of fun to talk with the older set of twins...because they want to finish each other's sentences and they both want the same things from Santa - a set of boys wanted trucks and Zuzu Pets, and a set of girls wanted Barbies and Zuzu Pets.



Only 20 days 'til Christmas! Try to stay on Santa's NICE list. I know the pressure is on!



Santa

It's a Santa SHOUT out!

Hi there,



Let me first do a special Santa Shout Out to Bobbi Tippman who is 8 yrs old today! He lives in New Haven, IN. His uncle is one of my special helpers and his name is "WOW" (his given name is "Trevor"). WOW is a hard worker and I'm glad he is working for Santa this Christmas season.


Today lived up to ALL of Santa's expectations...and more! It was NUTS! The camera computer system crashed, one of the printers quit, and the new pager system was put into place. Now, the crowd on the other hand, luckily, was very slow at the beginning. But by 1:00 p.m. (or 1300 for you pilot types) the computer system and printer were working again AND the crowd grew and grew and was SOLID until 9:00 p.m.


It's always fun when Santa can exceed the expectation of kids - which isn't too hard being the Dude in the Red Suit. But today I exceeded the expectations of some of the adults, which is pretty hard to do. For example, a little red-haired girl in a white dress was digging her heels in while she wanted NOTHING to do with Santa. So I started talking to her; complimenting her nice hair and nice dress. We gave each other "fives." And then I noticed that she wasn't pulling away any more. She was kind of standing there. So I bent over and asked her, "Can I have a picture with YOU?" She looked at me and said, "Yes!" so I picked her up, put her on my lap and did all the normal things....then I found out that it was her 3rd birthday! I told her how big she was and gave her a special birthday hug. Then I looked over at her mother and saw that she was crying because it was the first time her little girl actually talked to Santa.




My cold is subsiding and I am feeling quite a bit better today! Hallelujah! Thank you, everybody, for your thoughts and prayers. Keep it up!




Santa is excited for one thing tomorrow morning - I get to sleep in! As the mall does not open until NOON on Sunday, this is going to be a treat! So with that in mind....I'd better start so I can make the best of it!



Adios amigos!




Santa

Let Loose the Hounds!

Santa's feeling better today, but not 1000%. So please continue to have Santa in your thoughts and prayers so Santa can get enough rest and get completely better. Thanks!


You could tell that it's the first of the month and everyone was flush with cash because it was the day for everyone to bring little Suzy and Joey to the mall to visit Santa!


Today was a unique day as the morning was filled with people with special needs - literally 50-60 kids - including a toddler this evening with a clef palet. Now the reason I'm mentioning this is that under Federal law, we are not allowed to take pictures of special needs adults or kids due to possible exploitation. So the caregivers take the pictures with their own camera, unless the parent/guardian gives us permission to take the picture - which happened with the child with the clef palet.


Continuing with our unique theme of the day, we were basically slammed from 1pm - 9pm with little kiddies. Santa saw hundreds of them. And, of course, we had the people who just came from the food court with dribbles on their shirts and others who were dressed to the hilt!



I just love the little kids with a few teeth missing. When they came up I saw, "Santa knows what you want for Christmas!" And the kids go, "Okay, Santa, what do I want?" I lean over real close to their ear and say, "TEETH!" And they always say, "No, Santa, that's not what I want!" In fact, one little girl today had so many teeth missing I asked her how she could eat soup! Her answer, "Tilt your head back."


Well, Santa's going to go see the Sandman now. More tomorrow...


Santa

When it Rains, it SNOWS!

Hi everybody!

Just a quick healh update on Santa. I do have a head cold, but everything else is alright for now. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

Just want you to know that here in Grand Rapids, it is still snowing from the other day and they expect it to continue until Friday afternoon. There is only maybe 3-4 inches of snow on the ground, but the roads are fine. Santa has been very lucky. He's been picked up and brought back to his hotel every day by one or more of his helpers.

Today was a more typical early Christmas season day - slow in the morning with parents bringing in their preschool children for a quick look or walk by of Santa to see how their kids would react. Usually, they bring them back in the evening all "prettied" up! I did recognize some of those morning kids tonight...and one little girl from yesterday.

Now, Santa has been around at least a little while and has heard children ask for many different things. The popular toys this year are anything Legos, Barbie, and Pillow Pets, but today I have been hit with a few I had never heard of before. Two separate times this morning I was asked for a Temperpedic "Memory Foam" matress. The only thing that comes to mind is, "Great, now Santa's a furniture mover!"

A young girl this evening asked for a real microscope. And, of course, Santa gets requests for the horses, cows, dogs, cats...and I always look at the parents for the cue of a "thumbs up or down" so I now how to respond. Usually, for the horses and cows I tell the kids that Santa doesn't carry livestock.

Now two of my friends, who might be offended by what is going to be said, need to know that this is the truth so you do not need to send me a concerned email. This family of four came - all girls - and we were getting backed up with printing pictures so I decided to ask the kids extra questions like, "Did you play in the snow? What's your favorite subject? How are your grades in school?" When I asked the last of the four girls "What's your favorite subject?" She responded, "What do you mean?" And I said, "What's your favorite lesson - reading, math?" She said, "I don't know, we're home schooled!"

Okay, picture time! As you saw above, there are two pictures. I will let you figure out which is which just by the description (and I trust you will get them right). The first one is me having a chat with a potential fan, and the other is a picture of the Carousel located a few hundred feet from the Big Chair. The sun just happened to peak through, so I grabbed my camera and took the shot.

Sweet dreams!

Santa

Sleep anybody?

Hi!





I can't stress enough how much SLEEP is a good thing! With that said, the other night I only got 2.5 hrs and worked all day so I was in tough shape. Plus I am getting a cold, or that certain infection I get every year or so. Either way, Santa is feeling a little green! I did get some good sleep last night. Hallelujah!





Last night a "snow storm" came in and dumped a whole inch or two. The whole city was in a panic with a nine-car pile up and people calling to say they can't make it in. Come on people! Back at the North Pole we don't even blink. To be fair, this was the first snow of the season here. So Santa will not razz them too much.



Because of the "storm" today was kind of slow, which made for a long day. Okay, Santa has a question. How come the lunch break is the fastest time of the day? Today's lunch felt like it was only five minutes long even though I got my fully alloted time. Please send in your thought...



The kids that did have parents who ventured out were anxious to see Santa. For some reason, there were quite a number of twins today. (And no, I do not need new glasses.) The youngest twins were 4 weeks old and the oldest twins were in 2nd grade. One set of twins tag-teamed me as one got ahold of my glasses at the same time as the other got ahold of my beard. I didn't know
which to make a grab for first while still hanging onto both kids. Luckily, the mom saw Santa in his predicament and worked on releasing my beard while I tried to work on saving my glasses. After I got my glasses back on and my beard situated for the picture, the mom says, "Sorry! I thought they might do that!" A little forewarning would be been nice. :o)


I had one little boy come in today where it was a good thing Santa does not have a glass jaw. Because I got head-butted and EVERYONE heard it! All eyes were on me from the workers to the parents checking to see if I was alright.


Well, there's a couple good stories for you tonight...and Santa wants to get to be before midnight. I will try to get you some pictures tomorrow. Remember to pray for Santa so that he feels better.


Night, night!


Santa

Sorry.

Hi there,



I hate to say it, but I am not feeling well and need extra sleep...so under orders from the boss (Mrs. Claus), this is it for tonight.



I will attempt to make up for it tomorrow.



Santa