Santa David

For the last 15 years, or so, I have dressed up as Santa Claus. This began with taking pictures with my grandchildren and grown from there. The last 10 years I have also been asked to play Santa at the children’s Christmas party at our church. This is mostly a fun experience. Over the years my wife, children, and even my grandchildren have become more comfortable with me wearing the Santa suit. The usual routine is for me to have the grandchildren come to our house and I put the suit on, without the fake beard and wig, and we take pictures. This can be fun and we have pictures of our grandchildren as they have grown and my own beard has changed from brown to white. When I play Santa at the church party I arrive and attend the party in my “street” clothes mingling with the crowd and receiving friendly inquiries from parents as to who Santa is this year. At some point during the party I slip out of the meeting hall and find a private office where I change into the suit and return to the meeting hall as the crowd sings “Here Comes Santa Claus.” Most years this process goes off without a hitch, but one year I had worked with the children’s ministry all year, mostly teaching and leading music so when I was asked to appear at the Christmas party I pointed out that fact. The party organizers didn’t think that would be a problem so I planned on playing Santa that year. On the night of the party I arrived and went about as normal. Finally the time came for me to appear in the Santa suit. As usual I entered the room ringing sleigh bells and calling out to the crowd. After taking my seat the children lined up and began approaching. One boy, who was 5 that year, waited patiently in line then when it was his turn to approach me he stopped in front of me and looked me squarely in the face and announced loudly to the entire crowd, “that’s not Santa, that’s Mr. Sullivan.” The boys older brother, and several other older children, immediately surrounded the offender and repeatedly told him that he was mistaken. As other children made their way up to sit on Santa’s lap the little boy, and his outburst, was quickly forgotten. The rest of the night went off without a hitch. Of course this was not the only time that an issue arose while I was in the Santa suit. A few years ago my wife decided that our Christmas card should include photos of me in the Santa suit at different locations around the area and places we visited. This means that when we go different places we bring the Santa suit along with us. Usually water is also involved as we enjoy kayaking, swimming and other water related activities. One year my wife was determined to take the Christmas Card picture at a small lake in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. With that in mind we loaded a kayak on top of the truck and the santa suit in the backseat and headed for the hills. After driving for several hours criss-crossing the foothills we still had not found the desired lake. Once again I suggested a lake, only 45 minutes from our home. My wife finally relented and we drove to this small lake nestled in a valley with forested hills rising above it on all sides. It was a unseasonably warm fall day and we were surprised to find several families with power boats at, or around, the boat launch when we arrived. I drove down to the boat launch and unloaded the kayak. My wife sat with the kayak while I found a parking spot and got dressed for the pictures. It was only as I put the suit on I realized it was Halloween. All the more fun. I had no sooner got the suit on than a family with no small children, but several teenagers, drove into the parking area from the boat launch with their boat in tow. While all of the family called out to me one teenage boy yelled, “Santa, I want a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas!” Without thinking I responded, as I wagged my finger, “you’ll shoot your eye out.” As I kept walking toward the boat launch I heard the boy and the rest of his party howling with laughter. The road to the boat launch makes two turns before reaching the water. Along the way I ran into several other parties and got my picture taken with half a dozen young ladies ranging in age from mid-teens to late twenties. A reaction I’ve become somewhat used to. Once I reached the water I launched the kayak and my wife started taking pictures. About an hour later I was back in my regular clothes and we were on our way home. We had very positive responses to our Christmas card that year. My favorite picture, we put several on the card, is a shot from the backside of my wife and I standing on the end of the dock holding hands and her head is resting on my shoulder. Having played Santa for so many years there are many more stories I could share. But I will save some for another day.