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!"
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
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
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
Monday, December 13, 2010
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
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
Sunday, December 12, 2010
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
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
Saturday, December 11, 2010
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
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
Friday, December 10, 2010
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
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
Thursday, December 9, 2010
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
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
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