I told her "Christmas Eve."
“I know” she says, “but what time will you be there?”
“Time? I am not sure of the exact time, is it important to you?”
“Yes,” she answers with big inquiring brown eyes.
I smile back at her and say, “on Christmas Eve; you should be fast asleep.”
She squeezes my hand a little tighter and says, “sometimes I have to go potty at nighttime. My friend Billy said you will go by my house if I not sleeping. I afraid you not come back because you are so busy. Last Christmas I went potty in my bed, and mommy got mad at me. I told mommy why I did potty on my bed, and she did not get mad anymore.”
Her mother leans in and says to me so the little could hear also, “I told Emily that Santa would never forget her, and if she needs to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night then she should.”
“Your mommy is right Emily; Santa would never forget you. When I come to your house, and you are not asleep, I will wait until you go back to bed and fall asleep.” That got me another hug. You cannot put something like that in a box with or without the pretty wrapping paper.
The company where I used to work before my retirement has a Santa visit every year. One year I decided to do a couple of nights of Santa Claus. A long line quickly formed after the kids and their parents visited with Mickey Mouse and his friends. One little boy about six years old caught my attention. He was about halfway through the line with at least a dozen kids before him. He was the type of boy who was not going to be fooled by a make believe Santa Claus. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as he drew nearer. His arms are folded across his chest. To help create the magic of Santa, I have my helpers quietly ask the parents what their child's name is before they get to me. My helper would then write it on a pad with a magic marker. He would hold it at an angle, so I could see it but not the kids that walked up to me. When it got time for this little boy to visit me, he walked with his arms to his sides. I quickly scanned the name; it said "Jimmy." I said to him in a cheery Santa Voice. "Jimmy, I'm so glad you came." "I've been waiting for you." Jimmy stopped dead in his tracks. His mouth opened to its fullest extent.
He slapped his hands against his head and said. "Damn, he does know my name!” His parents I noticed just closed their eyes and shook their heads. After that, I had him convinced I was the real McCoy. He told me a score of things he wanted. I told him afterward that I was glad he was excited to see me. Next time could he use other words to exclaim his joy? We went over a couple he could use instead.
I heard this from a little boy. “Santa my teacher told me that reindeer were really caribou. Is that true?” Not to dispute the teacher, I say “reindeer belong to the same family as caribou. I guess yes they are caribou too. On the other hand, they could be called that. That is a very good question. Now what do you want for Christmas?” I later looked up reindeer to see if they really were in the caribou family. So that the next time a child happens to ask me about reindeer and caribou, or reindeer in general, I would have the answers to their questions. Who knew playing Santa would require a wealth of knowledge in
raindeerology
.
I spotted this one boy watching me for about fifteen minutes. After a little while, I went over to him and asked him if he was watching me talk to the other boys and girls? He had to be around nine years old. He asked me when I was going to disappear. I said “I am going to leave after I see all the boys and girls that come to see me. Then I am heading back to the North Pole.” “No,” he says again. "When are you going to disappear?” I asked him what he meant. He says that his mommy says that I was not real. Therefore, I should disappear soon. So he says to me, “do you know that you are not really Santa.” I thought that he assumed I was made up and was just impersonating Santa, and not the real thing. He thought I was just an illusion, and would disappear after a while. This was very weird to think about.
It Happens to be Funny
I would like to think I have seen and heard everything a kid would do to Santa Claus. After playing Santa for over ten years, and 20,000 kids later something new always comes along.
A three-year-old boy came up to me with his hands behind his back. He asked me to close my eyes. After all, these years, I still am trusting to close my eyes when a child asks me to. The last time I closed my eyes in front of a kid, I got three quick shots from a squirt gun. This time the little boy shoves a pacifier in my mouth and says. “My mommy told me you could give this to a baby who really needs it. I am a big boy now.” Thinking to myself, I have been given so many of those pacifiers and teething rings over the years, I probably could make a necklace out of them by now. The last count was eleven pacifiers, three baby bottles, and a frayed baby blanket. I wash and add them to a box that I have been collecting for over ten years. There is a fair amount of toys too.
“What do you want for Christmas,” I asked a little boy of about seven. After a momentary hesitation, he started in telling me what he would like. “A Ninja Blimp and a new bicycle that works.” That last request automatically generates a question. “What about your other bike, did it stop working” I ask? “No, my mommy said it was too old, and did not work anymore.” Then he adds, “I know my mommy drove her dopey car on top of it.”
While at an especially busy day at the mall, my helper was trying to sit a family that had nine kids. Their apparent ages were 3 to 10, and with one set of twins in the mix. It started with two on my lap, three kneeling in front of me, a couple behind. It was difficult to squeeze them all into the picture. At the same time another one of my helpers brought me a large soda. My mouth becomes dry after talking to kids all day. Therefore, my helpers keep me in liquids as much as possible. I could not take a sip because I had these nine kids squirming all around me. I asked my helper to put it on the floor behind my chair. One child wants to know if he can have a drink of my soda. I told him that was Santa's. He said ok and faced forward with the rest of his brothers and sisters. It took almost ten minutes to place all the kids after arranging and rearranging. After the initial picture, and one extra for insurance was taken, I asked what each child wanted for Christmas. They all milled around my chair as I finally got to them all. That done, I reached behind my chair and picked up an empty soda cup with a bent and chewed straw. “Ok,” I said to all those kids standing in front of me. “Who drank Santa's soda?” Without hesitation, nine little hands went up in the air. It seems every one of them took a drink of my soda. I handed my empty cup to a helper. “My my,” she says. “Santa is very thirsty today.” They all laughed and said they were sorry. They took a vote and said they would leave an extra glass of soda for me on Christmas Eve.