I wore the Red Suit (12 page)

Kids in their excitement will run fast to get to your lap. One kid was about three feet
away from me, when she launched herself into space. I had to hit the floor on my knees to catch her. It was a good thing that I was a catcher when I played baseball. From the time, the child is with me until they are back with a parent, I take great pains in worrying about their safety.

Getting kids to laugh or smile for the camera can be a small problem at times. I tell them to smile or say cheese if they are old enough to understand. “Ok, then say Santa Claus. Say something please. Show your teeth.” I had one little boy who would not smile for anything. I finally say to him, “can you say
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
.” Without looking at me, he says, “no! But I can say cheese.” The picture was quickly snapped before the child knew what happened.

Several long hours of sitting for pictures and asking the children for their Christmas wishes, I sometimes get tongue-tied. Instead of asking, "what do you want for Christmas,” I started saying "what do I want for Christmas" without realizing it. A couple of kids brought it to my attention that I was supposed to bring the presents.

I try to be as observant as I can of my surroundings. I watch the little ones as they get near me. If they seem reluctant, I tell them to bring their mommy or daddy with them. If there are other characters where you are doing Santa, get them to come over and join you for a while. Children will automatically be curious to get closer to Batman, or Goofy. Santa cannot be that bad if he is friends with Mickey. My goal is that another child leaves believing for one more year.

The local Mall where I do Santa every year is a happy time for me. Not because I bring customers and their business to the Mall, but that it transforms that particular mall into a Christmas event. When I am there, people are relaxed, and want to come to that mall. They look for me every year, and it is good for the businesses. This past year they bought me a new Santa chair. High back and padded; a great shade of Christmas Green. It goes well with my red suit. All I had to say to the mall management was that my chair was uncomfortable. So, the marketing department staff went out and bought a new chair. If Santa is happy and comfortable, then the kids and their parents will be too.

Make sure the decorations around you and the set is ok for kids. There are no wires or dangerous plants like a poinsettia that a child would try to take a bite of the leaves. I stopped more than my share of kids picking leaves from the floor and trying to jam them in their mouths. So instead of trying watch other kids out the corner of your eyes, while another one is sitting on your lap, make sure the mall takes care of the problem.

 
       
I noticed that one of the pitfalls of playing Santa at a mall, especially a mall with multiple open levels.
 
On the upper levels, they can look down and see Santa.
 
That is ok, but then there are the older kids, teenagers, and general act ups. The hooligans and mean kids start sailing down coins and try to hit the Santa.
 
All the decorations around Santa and the plants deflect the coins, and they fall harmlessly to the carpeted floor near my feet.
 
Occasionally, a few get though, and my thick Santa suit protects me.
 
It is a tough job protecting the little kids from getting hit.
 
At the end of the evening, I go around picking up a couple of dollars worth of change. This particular mall has a big fountain that people can throw money into and make a wish.
 
Once a month the mall empties the water, vacuum ups the coins and gives to a local charity.
 
On an average about a thousand dollars will reside there.
 
I toss what I have collected into the swirling water. What I think is poetic, is that these hooligans do not know they are actually helping others. I wish I could let them know. I wonder if they would stop throwing the coins down if, they knew where they were going. I asked the mall facilities staff to put a fine-mesh screen on the roof of the Santa Gazebo I was sitting in. This easily stops any objects from raining directly on me and the kids, and still provides airflow.

I did learn something about spending too much time playing Santa at a mall. The part-time money is good, but the hours are long. I have worked thirteen or fourteen hours straight on a Saturday, and 10 hours on a Sunday. You can be burnt out very quickly after a couple of weeks of that. You start rushing the line; the children start to become annoying. Parents are unbearable sometimes. I am taking a sabbatical next year, but I think in the future, I will tell prospective Santa’s has to limit their days and time on the set. If the malls are open fourteen hours, split the time in half. To do this totally by oneself, with only a few breaks in between is miserable.