At the Baptist East Reunion, 2010

  I think this is my very favorite Santa picture of all time. Just look at the expression on her face and you can understand why I do it!

Sun. Dec. 11

Santa had a pretty good day even if I feel like crap.  That's the thing about being Santa, you have to be cheerful, regardless of how bad you feel. Sudafed is good for clearing the head, tho.

Santa must have had half a dozen sets of twins on his lap, because we had the Infant ICU Unit reunion at Baptist East. This is where the babies that have been in the NICU unit come back so the nurses can see them after they have grown up some.  They are so tiny when they are in the unit and attached to all these monitors, it's very scary for the layman!  But these nurses lavish so much love on these tiny bodies that it is truly amazing.

Most of them were still  too young to tell me what they wanted for Christmas but there were some memorable moments like when Becky and Jeremy's son, Jackson came running, as fast as his little legs would carry him, all the way across  the room. Last year he was a bit more, shall we say, reluctant! Times like that warm a Santa's heart!

Then it was on to EastChase where I heard the following requests, among others:

One little girl wanted everything, she was maybe 4!

Another wanted an air swimmer and a pink guitar.

 
            And one wanted a tiger and an airplane!

                  Oops, I almost forgot, there was a little girl that wanted a Bug Box. I asked her if that meant a box full of bugs and found out from her Mother, she was talking about an insect collection box from a science kit!  If i could only get her together with the fellow that wanted ladybugs...

·        
A young boy wanted a bow & arrow and a bicycle. I asked if he planned on using them at the same time, I guess not from the look I got!

Ok, so far these are, in no particular order, the most unusual requests for Christmas gifts from Santa, for today anyway: A reindeer with a button, that when pushed,  jumps up on the roof and walks around;

a fire pole; and last but not least, a fork!  

 Out of the mouths of babes!

Tomorrow I am going to try a literal translation for you of some of the lists Santa has received this year!

At The Waters with a friend!

Dier Senty Ihave been veereey veere god this yier

I think the first two are a real bunny and a real cat.  I love the fact that line #22 is crossed out even though nothing appears after line #6: An Elf on the Shelf!

Sat. Dec.10

As we get closer to Christmas, life gets busier. Last week I had a tree lighting where I rode in on a firetruck and an evening picture taking event. 

 This week I had an appearance at Deer Creek development(my third year there) and a Breakfast  with Santa at a private home, always a fun time!

 So the following requests are from over the entire week.

  There was  a little guy asked for a turtle because the first two were broken, I didn't pry any further. Then I had another little boy tell me he wanted Ladybugs for Christmas because he liked them!

One little boy had a request for a Monster Truck you push that looks like a Shark!

 

Another young man asked for a  set of real golf clubs and he promised not to hit anyone with them

And there was one request for a "Stinky" Monster truck

One little girl asked for a bean. When I asked what she was going to do with it she said balance on it so I knew she was really talking about a balance beam

And a boy that wanted an iPad and a phone, not too surprising, except he was five!  When I asked him who he was going to call, he said, "My Mom!"

I had an older girl ask for a snake and an acoustic guitar, and a laptop!

 As always there were a few wishes that tugged at the heart. The day ended with a little boy who wanted Jesus for Christmas, And shouldn't we all!

 There was also a little girl who wanted just one thing for Christmas and that was to find her puppy that had been lost for four days.

If only I  had the magic to grant those two wishes!

A list for Santa

She did tell me the check marks were the ones her Mother approved

Sun. Dec. 4

OK, it was a really strange night in the big chair:

First I had one little boy who wanted Garlic bread, and that was his entire list.

Next was a little girl who asked for a woman's professional soccer jersey, I asked if she wanted a particular one but she said no, anyone would do!

Another boy asked for some listerine strips, I thought maybe he knew the one with garlic bread.

Another little boy asked for some worms and he wasn't after fishin' bait either!

There was also a little girl who asked for a plate and cup w/ red polka dots, please.  And there was a young man who wanted a Captain America outfit!

From a friend: 5-yr-old shared that another  little boy on the bus had said there was no Santa Claus. Five-year-old, with rolling of eyes, declared, "Talk about being on the naughty list."

 

And finally Santa got a list that had, at the bottom, after a hamster, iPod touch, and poylmer clay, money for missions!

 

Sat. Dec. 3

The day started with a Health Fair at Troy which was about an hour's drive but I got mileage and it was a lot of fun to do an outside event for once.

First there was a little boy who told me he wanted 8 bikes and held up all the fingers on one hand.  Then he repeated it, "8" while still holding his hand out.  I also got to stand with one little girl and we danced to the music of the Christian puppet group after watching the 5-6 year old clog dancers do some great dancing.

Then there was a little boy who asked for an accordion and he reminded me that you have to squeeze it slowly. After we talked a bit he asked me what Santa wanted for Christmas(And that was a first, i don't ever remember anyone ever asking me that before). He proceeded to answer his own question by saying, "You need an accordion,  because then we could play together"

One teenage girl asked for a squirrel.   And one little one gave me a little gift bag with two pacifiers in it

Well, Santa heard many weird and wonderful requests today. Not sure if I can remember them all but I'll give it my best shot. The requests ranged from the teenager who wanted a "money truck" to the little girl who wanted a pink remote controlled car with purple polka dots! And she wanted a bike to match!

 A little girl wanted a duck which I suggested she should name Bill.

Another little girl had a Justin Beaber t-shirt on. I asked her who it was, after she answered, I asked her who that was, she said "My boyfriend!" Of course when I asked if HE knew, she just grinned shyly.

Also had a little boy who evidently liked to live dangerously because he wanted a knife with a hook and a shotgun with shells, toy shotgun that is!

And that's how Saturday ended, with a bang!

Santa, Here's my list!

I'm pretty sure the first word is "Guitar"

After Thanksgiving II

Sun. Nov. 27

Tonight's tidbits for Santa's ear. A little girl wanted "Twinkletoes," sneakers that lite up, I told her I thought Santa would look good in a pair also!

One that really surprised me was the young lady who wanted a gun, when asked what kind she didn't know so Santa asked "AK-47?"

While sitting in Santa's chair I also heard: A teenager who wanted a face  transplant, a 20 something who wanted a new life, a little girl who wanted 2 (2 what I never found out but she was positive about wanting 2) and a little girl who wanted a Barbie doll, a Barbie boy friend, a Barbie friend, a Barbie dog... at which point I stopped asking, "Anything else?"

The best was the sweet little one who wanted a reindeer, and that was the only thing she wanted, so Santa told her she would have to hold it tight because they   do like to fly!

One of the littlest ones asked if I would save her toys for her.

Ok, I had two tonight that were priceless. The first little girl gave me a letter and I opened it after she left. About 3 spots down the list she had "pockets" but on closer examination I saw that was paired with "Polly" and I vaguely remembered a Polly Pockets item from years past. But at the bottom of her list was definitely, "Flower Pot"!
The next little girl told me she wants a giant worm! With ponys and rainbows on it!

I plan to try scanning some of the lists I got so I can share them with you.

Til then Goodnight Everyone!

After Thanksgiving

Sat. Nov. 26

Things were pretty slow today, The Iron Bowl:Alabama vs Auburn kept a lot of people away.

It is nice to know that there are some constants in the world, Little girls still want baby dolls, Barbie and American Girl mostly, and little boys still want trucks and bikes, mostly red with the occasional pocket knife or BB gun thrown in!

One little girl let me know she definitely wanted toys,  no clothes Please!

·         There was a little boy who wanted a pumpkin for Christmas, "Why?" asks Santa, "Because the other one is broken!" he replies, as if that were too obvious!     His older brother did tell me that it was broken because someone jabbed it with a screwdriver!

 
        Then there was a little girl who wanted a new tea pot and a cement truck, and there was the little boy who said, I swear, he wanted a dog door and a shotgun. It turns out I misunderstood him(fairly common with the under 5 crowd) and "dog door" was tractor and the shotgun was the Nerf kind!

And one little boy wanted taterhead! Mr Potato Head that is!

The second day

Sunday, Nov. 20

It was  a pretty slow day, probably because it's early in the season.  Many people seemed surprised when they entered the store that Santa was there.  Makes me wonder about the publicity on this gig!

There were some interesting requests.

A little girl asked for a red and black go-kart, which she said she knew how to drive.

 One of my all time favorites, a little boy asked for a green tractor and a forest!

 

There was one little boy who wanted a green stuffed dog and another who gave me raindeer food, in case I ran out on the way to his house.

 

 And then there was the girl who didn't need anything, regardless of how I prompted her. To which her sister said, "That's OK Santa, you can just give her presents to me!"

And that brought my second day as Santa to a close!

A beginning

At the request of many people(at least two) I am starting a blog about what I have learned in Santa's chair over the years.  We will begin with the first time I put on the suit(actually one of 6) this year.  It started with a parade:On Saturday, November 19
     Now the Grand Arrival Parade at The Shoppes at EastChase   is not a long parade.  It basically goes down one side of the Main Street of the open air shopping mall and back the other, but to make up for the shortness we did it twice.
     Ms. Claus(her one appearance of the year) and I arrived about 8:45 for the 9:30 parade.  The staging area was packed.  There were two different dance/gymnastic groups of about 60 little girls each, two horsedrawn carriages, a minature train, about a dozen pickup trucks filled with different groups, and a Balloon Man!  What else could you ask for?  Oh, the marching band was staging elsewhere.
     It did give me a chance to "work the crowd", wandering through the various groups, giving out hugs, letting my picture be taken, etc.
Just something any Santa worth his Pom-Pom(fur ball at the tip of the Santa hat) knows how to do instinctively!
    Well, the parade went on.  Ms. Claus & I rode in a carriage pulled by Duke and  ?, who were marvelous, big, beautiful animals.  We waved our arms off the entire route of the parade and ended at Preister's Pecans where Santa would be sharing the store for the next 6 weeks.
    After I settled into the big chair, I learned a lot that first day.
Here is just a little of the wisdom I gained:

I saw a little girl that wanted a helmet, my first thought was football, but it turns out she was talkin about a bike helmet!

There was little boy who, though  he liked candy, wouldn't take any, because he was watching his weight

I talked to a lovely older lady, who just wanted another year so she could come back and sit on my lap again.

Lastly there was a little girl with her list written on her palm. It included Gift certificates at the New York store for Mom and Bass Pro Shop  for Dad    I told her to tell her Dad about the one for mom.  And her Mom about the one for Dad

My memory is not the best but those are the ones that stood out that first day.


(I reserve the right to edit this first entry anytime I think it needs it)