Christmas on Ocracoke

Christmas Eve, 2012

    Well, it's Christmas Eve and I'm making probably my last entry until next November sometime.  There have been several recent gigs for Santa and I will try to cover them all in this entry.

 

      A big excursion for Santa was last Tuesday when he took Ms. Santa and went to work with the school on Ocracoke Island.  A friend, Courtney Connor,  who also does Linus in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, was directing a Christmas program that involved every student in the school from preschool to high school.  She used to teach at the school and even though she is based in New York City now she came down to direct, choreograph, & produce their program and she asked Santa to help.  Well Route 12 requires 4 wheel drive so, Santa & Mrs. Claus drove over to Swan Quarter to take the 2-1/2 hour ferry ride to Ocracoke Island.  Now there are only 2 ferries a day each way so careful advance planning was required. 

    The weather was gorgeous and we made the ferry without any problems, even the return trip at 7am the next morning.  The kids were marvelous and it was a very entertaining show.  My favorite number was one featuring middle school boys and fish that would have made Judy Kennedy proud!  There were several other numbers, a tap dance, a ninja number, and many others that were very inventive!

   The little ones were especially cute, as always.  Several wanted to tug on Santa's beard and Santa was able to remember his lines, mostly.  I even threw in a couple of adlibs, once I got a feel for the audience.  I'll post a couple of the picturesof the program!  After the show I sat for a while on stage for pictures with the littlest ones on my lap.  It was an early night for Santa because the ferry left at 7 am the next morning and you needed to be there 30 minutes ahead of time.

     Santa has had a couple of other theatre related appearances in the last week or so.  He has appeared at the Outer Banks Jubilee and has been coerced into coming up on stage the last two shows.  Thank goodness they didn't ask Santa to sing and he was able to demonstrate his own form of upper body dancing.  Simply plant the big boots and don't move them, but everything above them shakes like a bowl full of  jelly!  It was a lot of fun and I went to the lobby after the show to greet any little ones there in attendance.  There was a set of twins, older teenagers who got their picture taken with Santa.  After the picture was taken they said "we want to take another one, only we all have to make "duck"  faces."  I wasn't quite sure what we were to do but you may see a few pictures of Santa making a strange face or two, because that's what we did for everybody else too.  Duck Faces!  Did get a nice compliment from the Producer and Star of the show.  She said, " You are a Santa who is a step above the others!"  That was pretty nice to hear, because I do love doing it!

   There were two other gigs for Santa, Saturday afternoon at Stripers, where I met a young man, about 4, who spent a lot of time protecting Santa from aliens!  I didn't have to worry about them for quite a while and I finished up today with a visit to Colony Ridge Nursing & Rehab Center to give out gifts to a group of the sweetest folks, including another 100 y7ear old lady.  It was so nice to see the smiles from that group of our more experienced folks.  I did stop by the hospital on the way home to see if there was anyone who needed a visit from Santa, but they told me that there weren't any young ones in the hospital tonight, which was a good thing, Santa thinks!  So I left some candy Canes for those who have to work on Christmas Eve!

  Well that wraps up Christmas 2012 for this jolly ol' Elf!  Thanks for reading my ramblings; I'll see y'all next November!  And now:

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS to ALL and to ALL,

A GOOD NIGHT!

One for each Reindeer

December 21, 2012

     Still trying to catch up on Santa's doings. I actually have had quite a few, considering the move here just this August. I do miss all the folks in Alabama that were regulars for thisSanta. But I have made a lot of new friends here also! Last weekend I had two wonderful visits at two separate churches. At both churches almost all the children were willing to come sit on my lap, tell me what ...they wanted for Christmas and give me a hug! You haven't lived until one of those little bundles of love gives you a tight hug! It's enough to help one get through almost anything!

     There weren't any unusual requests from either group. Lots of doll babies, and monster trucks. There seem to be quite a few Easy Bake Oven requests this year and the Ninja Turtles are making a comeback this year. Did get a couple of written requests and something for the Reindeer. I will try to post these on Santa's blog!

      Santa has to share a marvelous experience he had doing a gig with "Toys 4 Tots" at the Dare County Center. This is the type of experience that makes my Christmas season.

      There was this little 7 year old blonde that came and sat on my lap and told me she wanted a bike for Christmas, a pink one please! Mom was standing behind her and as she shook her head sadly, I could see it wasn't in their budget. Well, I have a weakness for the little ones so just I hugged her and told her we would have to see. (Santa doesn't promise something that isn't going to happen)

     The line continued to come through, about 60 or so with the usual requests. One exception was a 10 year old girl who said she wanted to give her presents to those that weren't going to get any! Yes, there are those who think of others during this season! Each of the kids was given a bag with several nice gifts that had been donated by businesses and individuals in the area.

     Later they had a drawing for about a dozen donated bikes and when they brought out this one with pink wheels and a pink seat and a pink helmet, God must have been watching over things, because they called the name of this same little blonde that wanted a pink bike! Its times of serendipity like that that really gladden this ol' Santa's heart! Her eyes got so big, it was wonderful. I'm afraid I don't have the words to convey the wonder of the sight! After she had taken her bike out to the car, she made a special trip back to thank and hug Santa for her bike. I tell you, I have the best job in the world and thank you to "Toys 4 Tots" for making this little girl's dream come true...and that of a lot of other kids!

Make-A-Wish

December 13, 2012

Well, I have fallen a bit behind on the blog so I need to catch up a bit!:

Last Thursday morning was really special. The Make-A-Wish Foundation was granting the wish of a little kindergarten girl at Nags Head Elementary. So Santa got to join in the fun too. There must have been about18 to 20 little ones and they were the best behaved kindergarten children Santa has seen in a long time. T...he little girl had her big sister and a couple of other friends there too. Each child had a special gift bag done up by the folks at Spring Arbor.(More about them in a little bit!) And they sat and patiently waited until they got their own bag before they opened it. They have a wonderful teacher who is definitely on Santa's nice list!
The little girl's wish was to go to Disney World and it was so special to be able to share this time with her. She was a real little princess! My favorite comment of the morning was the little boy who said I can tell you are the real Santa because I can see your mouth! Referring of course to all those fake beards which just have a hole to speak through! Anyway, it was a magical morning and difficult to leave all the love in that room! On the way we stopped at the school office so the ladies there could tell Santa their Christmas wishes!
Then it was on to Spring Arbor Assisted Living Center to thank the folks there for making up the bags for the Kindergarteners. Santa decided they needed a personal thank you from him for their good deed! Met a real nice group of folks there, one lady said I even smelled like Christmas. I'm not sure what Santa smells like but it was a nice thought! I also met one lady who had just turned 100. She was in the beauty parlor and she wouldn't talk to Santa until she got her hearing aids in! She was a lively one! They were all a very nice group including the staff and Director Miss Dianne! And that's the latest from the North Pole!

Another List for Santa

December 12th-Evening

Well, Santa has fallen a bit behind on his blog, so I will see if I can catch y'all up a bit(overheard two little boys talking while they were waiting in line to see Santa)      

                     1st Boy-Did you hear that?   Santa doesn't have a Southern accent!

                     2nd Boy-What did you expect?  He lives at the North Pole!

          After breakfast at the DCC on Wednesday, Santa had an evening performance for the Children's Museum.  It was at the Brewing Station and was billed as Santa and the Train.  I only saw the train as I passed by it from the parking lot and a good thing too because it was outside and the wind was howling and it was cold!  Santa got to be inside where it was nice and warm.  And that can be a challenge in the  big red suit!

          The nice ladies running the fundraiser were kind enough to split the Santa appearance into two shifts so Santa would not get too tired.  This meant  there was another Santa from 3:30 til 5 and the real thing from 5 til 7.  Well, I got there as close to 5 as I could because you don't want Santa to be late and when I walked in the other Santa was still there.  I was stuck in the entrance with kids all around me until someone came and spirited me away to...the Men's Room.  After a few minutes someone came and told me the coast was clear.  I did tell the lady in charge that I would just do the whole thing myself next year.  Golly I did seven hours straight with just two bathroom breaks at the Christmas Shop the Saturday before!

          There were a real nice bunch of kids that I met that night, even though we started with a string of refusals.  No screamers, but several in a row that weren't about to get on my lap.  Enough to make Santa wonder if he used his deodorant before he got dressed, but most did fall into the age I have mentioned before, 8 months to 2 and 1/2 years.  Then we got rolling and we had several girls that wanted baby dolls, mostly American Girl and Jennifer is leading the pack for American Girl dolls this year, with mentions of Julie and a few Barbies too!

          There were a lot of skateboards this evening and Santa always let it be known that helmets and knee and elbow pads come with every skateboard!  Trucks are still popular with the boys and one girl along with the skateboards.   The most unusual request of the evening had to go to the little one who wanted a penguin!   

          That's another first, but after a while, I think I figured out where the request came from, at least the idea!   There was a play area set up for the kids waiting and there were several inflated penguins located in the area for the children to play with.  We did take a short break for a contest of Elf costumes.  Santa was called on to Judge and we had 6 winners...out of 6 contestants!  One had best hat, one had most sparkles, one had...oh you get it!

          So that was Santa's adventures on Wednesday evening.  I am including a couple of  lists that Santa got so far!

Dec 10, 2012 A New Week

Had a real nice experience with an older group yesterday at the Dare Community Center. Will also be doing a Breakfest with Santa tomorrow there! Really looking forward to that one.
Here is a post from last year that I didn't get online:
                         

Dec. 19, 2011
Busier than I thought it would be for a  Monday but most of the requests were the usual: Monster Trucks, kitchens are popul...

ar this year, and, of course, baby dolls. Then there was the little guy who wanted, a dump truck, baseball stuff and... a rolling suitcase.
There was one young lady who was going to be with her family and that was all she wanted, "Family". God bless her.
I did have the usual child that wanted "Everything!". About once a day I get that request, but I will say that this year, most of the kids only have a list of two or three items. Now some of those include some high ticket items: iPad, X box Connext, etc.
Little girl just asked for a Barbie, WITH clothes, thank you. A tiny little girl, 16- 18 months old, after we had taken several pictures, said, as clear as a bell, "I'm done!". And she was too!
Teenager asked for a boyfriend, only he had to be cute and nice.
Little one asked for Princesseseseses which means, I'm pretty sure, a lot more than one.
Little boy asked for a race car with wheels which is always a good idea.
A first for me, when after she had asked for a brighten charm bracelet , a little girl asked for a BB gun. I, of course, reminded her that she would put her eye out with it.
Had another little girl ask for that thing that helps you do an arabesk(sp). I'm not sure what that is, Gary Moore would probably say it's talent, but I think she might have been talking about a flying rig.
Someone else asked for a Justin Beaber doll, and one little boy asked for a watch that would turn him into Ironman!

The Christmas Shop

 

      Santa had a wonderful time at the Christmas Shop today.  Talked to over 110 great kids and most of them sat on my lap at some point.  Eddie told me it only took them 40 some years to get Santa into the Christmas Shop, but he has already reserved Santa's services for next year! 

The flow was real steady, never had a very long pause, the two brief bathroom breaks I  took resulted in someone waiting for me when I returned.  At the same time there were never more than three groups waiting in line at any one time, which was a good thing because the anxiety increases the longer the kids are in line. 

The first little guy wanted a Race car, green and blue and yellow!

When I asked  who his favorite driver was, he told me the green one. I guess he meant Kermit,

Next was a little girl who wanted a big pink kitchen so she could cook vegetables. When asked which one she said  Like Strawberries!

 

Then there was a boy who wanted a Toy gun and a tractor. Green because he was a John Deere man

 A little girl wanted a Barbie, she wasn't sure which one. She had more Barbies than she could keep track of  so she wasn't sure which one she wanted.

Several bike requests, usually big girl in pink!

 Girl wanted a scooter.  Little guy wants a real 4 wheeler. When asked if he could drive one he answered yes.  Santa decided to pursue this so he asked if the little guy ever had driven one

He answered no but he knew that he could.  Sounds just  like a lot of drivers today

 

Little boy asked for a hand gun.  When asked what kind,  he said BB. So of course I said you'll put your eye out.  Mom and Dad laughed and said they would have to watch the movie this year.  I explained to him about the guy wanting a Daisy Air Rifle but I told him I wasn't going to spoil it by telling him whether he gets it!

 Another Boy wanted a red and black bike   A rough rider 360.  And blue jeans. 2 pairs cuz he is rough on them. 

His brother wanted an electric scooter.  A rough rider 360(going to have to see what that is). And new shoes because his were  getting too short

 Little girl wanted an American Girl doll. She couldn't remember the name She also wanted  a Justin Beiber water bed. Which is one I hadn't heard of

A little Girl with came in with a stuffed otter and  wanted Pikemon cards. I asked if she wanted the Black & White ones and she seemed surprised I knew that much about Pokemon.

 Little boy wanted a puppy. After I explained that mom had to agree and she mentioned their three cats. We decided a stuffed dog would be fine

It takes a lot to make a request that Santa has never heard, after all I have been doing this for a while.   Today one little boy managed to spring a new one on me.  He asked for a big black spider.  That I had never heard before!

His sister wanted a doll...a snowman doll

Another little girl wanted a dollhouse, there are some standards that pop up each year Then a littl guy asked for a stuffed Nemo and a live fish, any variety!

 There were several, "I don't know" or blank stares. There is a certain performance anxiety to being on Santa's lap, I guess.

 Then there was a little girl asking for a cotton candy machine and a puppy.  Mom said they have large dog so it was ok to ask for a puppy, hope he doesn't get in the cotton candy!

 There were two separate requests for cowboy boots.... from girls, one of whom asked what Santa wanted for Christmas. I explained that Santa could always use cookies!

One little girl wanted a guitar... Purple!

 One fellow asked for a remote control helicopter.  Santa asked if he wanted it to learn how to fly it, but he said he knew how to fly because he had one already but he needed a different one, one that works!

 A  little girl asked for a Guinea pig and a cage and... earrings, for the Guinea pig, one wonders?

 A well dressed( tie with matching pants and vest)  young man came very well prepared with a brochure of a dwarf hamster, with cage and toys, etc.

The last little girl of the day asked for a Stroller for her doll. Santa asked  what's your dolls name And she replied "Santa Claus, Just like you!"

And That's All, Folks!

Santa gets a big smile!

Back to work tonight!

Have a Santa gig tonight and I'm really looking forward to getting into the ol' red suit. Meanwhile here is another post from last year I didn't get published!
                                                              Tues. Dec. 20, 2011
        First little girl today was the most organized so far this year! She had a letter with a complete return address including zip code. The letter was very straight forward telling Santa that she had been extremely good. Did I mention the letter was on stationery with her name on it? She went on to list three things she wanted for Christmas: complete with pictures and descriptions and where to get it. Like I said the most organized little one I have seen this year, maybe ever!  Future President of the Junior League or the PTA, at least!

             Another first was a little boy who came in and, after a bit of persuasion, let me know that number one on his list was a gas pump! His Mom said she didn't know where it came from but it had been at the top of his list for a long time. I guess he figured it would be a good money maker for him.

         Another little boy wanted, among other things, a treehouse. A little girl mentioned she had a treehouse but she needed a camping set. It seems she had redone her backyard, with her parent's permission, into a campground complete with swimming hole/fishing pond.

           Had a little girl ask for a Barbie doll, when I asked which one she said "Justin Beiber" and she was positive he is a Barbie doll, so who am I contradict to her, Justin Beiber is a Barbie doll.

     Another little girl asked for a nutcracker and something for her dog, Jennie. She thought her dog would like a sweater with a nutcracker on it.

      Just had a little girl tell me she would like a tumbling mat and a Barbie guitar. So I told her about the "Grooving' Santas" band, which she thought was a great idea.

Believe

Well, the Santa business is a little slow this week, but it picks up this week end with a Friday night appearance at the Outer Banks Jubilee and all day Saturday at The Christmas Shop.  So until then I will be posting notes from last year I didn't get published then.
                                                        This one is from Dec 21, 2011:
  Had the most serious little girl you could possibly imagine.  She didn't know what she wanted for christmas  but after a lengthy series of questions from  me, she did admit that an iPod would be pretty nice because she liked to listen to  all kinds of music.  Although she had never heard of Dean Martîn or Perry Como.  A serious gap in her education, in my view!
   The next little boy wanted hunting stuff because he liked to go hunting with  His Dad.  When I asked what he hunted he answered "deer" Well, we established pretty quickly that it wasn't reindeer he hunted.
    Some Mothers have an enormous amount of patience.  The story behind  a little girl about 4 who would not come up and sit on my lap, not totally unusual but a little older than most that refuse. After Mom spent several minutes trying to convince her they left.  About 10 minutes later they came back.  The little girl came right to me and got in my lap.  Of course she would not smile or even raise her head.  Finally the Mom decided that was as good as it was going to get, a picture of the top of her head, and then  camera froze up!
   Another little girl wanted a big red barn, with lots of horses and stalls.  Another young fellow asked for a BuzzLightyear jet back pack. 
   Had a couple of youngsters who cried.  Here's a tip for parents of little ones, if the child is kicking and screaming, don't put them on Santa's lap because they aren't going to stop!  And it doesn't work to have Santa with a squirming, kicking child in his lap!  Personally if they are kicking I will set them back down on the floor.  Occasionally, I can calm them down but it is going to happen before they get on my lap!
   Two brothers, somewhere between 5 and 7,    had nearly identical lists, roller skates, game tables(football & hockey), and golf bags. I had to ask them where they played, to which they answered , "in the field with Dad. And one time at the base with Dad, early, real early, dark early!"

Not everyone is happy to see Santa!

Not everyone is happy to see Santa!

December 4, 2012

Since I have no Santa gigs today I will continue posting those from last year that I didn't get published then. This one answers the question of how I got started doing Santa:
Thurs. Dec. 22, 2011
Spent a good portion of the morning at the hospital. Each year just before Christmas a friend of mine who is a nurse takes pictures of Santa with the babies who are in the infant ICU. This is the eighth year we have done it! Actually it's sort of how I started doing the Santa thing.
You see, about 8 years ago when my beard had turned mostly white, a friend at church asked if i would play Santa at the concert of her junior high band. Since she was furnishing the suit, I said "sure, I would be glad to help out." The concert went great, the band played great, Santa was a hit and afterwards, a nurse approached me and asked if I would come to the hospital so they could get pictures of the babies with Santa. I agreed and when she asked how much I charged, I told her that there was no way I could charge her to take pictures to give to parents of kids in the hospital at Christmas, they are already paying a big enough price. That was the first time and we have done it eight straight years now and have added a reunion of "graduates of the NICU" each year about two weeks before Christmas. The babies are so tiny it's almost scary to hold them. That's why the reunion is so much fun, seeing them bigger and healthy and not attached to about a dozen monitors.
(This is one of the things I miss the most this holiday season, not being able to see those little ones. I did go down to the hospital here but I guess they don't do that or need a Santa. Maybe they need an Yvonne who has the passion to get it started)

 

On to Santa's Chair, where dreams are brought to life:

A little girl wanted a toy snake  and a roller coaster.  Her Mom said she has been fascinated by snakes ever since her Sunday School studied Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden.

 

Young boy wanted iPad, Call of the Wild movie, and lots of money. After some thought he decided that he would settle for his  family having the best Christmas ever!  Pretty nice wish, Santa thought!

 

A little girl wants a piano but decided a keyboard would be better because there wasn't enough room in her bedroom for a piano. 

 

A little girl wants a yoyo, pink, of course, and two teenagers who just wanted clothes.

 

The first of my students came to sit on my lap and her wish was for a docking station for her iPod!

A little one who wants a fake kitty  and a brother and sister combo for Santa's band.  She wants a guitar and he wants an electric guitar.

 

Several requests for iPads again today. And my response is pretty much the same every time "they are really scarce and I can't guarantee anything.  I'll do the best I can"  Santa should never promise something that they won't find under the tree Christmas morning.

 

One of the last ones on my lap today was a little guy who wanted a sword. When I asked what he would be using it for, he very matter of factly replied, "to fight dinosaurs."

Them he thought a moment and said"Maybe you better make that two swords, one for each hand"

 

And that's the latest from Santa's lap!

Santa with two Gangsta Elves!

December 3,2012

Last night I met with a really neat mentoring group at Western Sizzlin'  Thats a tough venue because the tables are really close together and everything smells so good!  Met a lot of great kids and mentors and its the first time Santa has been told he was pretty!  Didn't get any unusual requests so I am publishing a note from last year I never got to:

 

December 23, 2011

 

The eve of Christmas eve started with a rush: no one was in line at 2  but by 3 minutes after 2 the line stretched almost to the door. And it stayed that way for about an hour.  So I'm going to forget some of the requests I'm sure but don't tell the kids.

There were a couple of new Santa's band members,  one guitar and an Elmo drum!  And we just requited a trombone!

Two brothers wanted underarmour and that's the first time I've had someone ask for underwear

One little girl wanted a horse and a Zebra but decided if she got two horses she could paint stripes on one and have her Zebra.

Two teenage girls decided they didn't need anything but they would like world peace!

 Several scooters were requested and I always remind them that helmets are required, skateboards Require knee & elbow pads too

Ok this was one of the best I've had: there was a family group, baby, toddler and kindergartener, after settling the toddler, (see my post about age that can be the most difficult ) and getting the picture, the oldest began to tell me what she wanted.   First thing on her list was real flying wings.   I looked at her Mom and she repeated, yes she wants wings that will let her fly.  Well, thinking on the fly, no pun intended,well maybe, and seeing the long suffering expression on Mom's face, I could see the problems on Christmas morning if there were no working wings.   So I simply told her there is an age requirement for all wings.  Just like you have to be 16 to get a driver's license, in order to be issued wings you have to be(pause here while I ask her how old she is, 5 it seems,) 12 years old.  While she was disappointed it was not the blow of finding out on Christmas morning that Santa had failed to grant her wish.  So we went on to her next wish...The ever popular baby doll.

 Had a young lady whose only wish was for her dog's eye to get better.

A man come into the store wearing a hat that looked like a chimney with Santa's legs sticking out,  it was funny.

two little boys brought Santa a present about the size of a thimble but I can't open it until Christmas. I wonder what it is. (When I opened it, I found the tiniest nativity set ever! I will publish a picture!  It was a perfect gift for Santa)

Had a little guy about three request a yellow guitar so I signed him up for Santa's band also.

A young fellow asked for a metal detector so he could find money.

Had a split family with two daughters come up.  I could tell they were a divided family because one daughter wanted a Roll Tide doll and the other one wanted an Auburn teddy bear

 



December 24, 2011

This is one I did not get published from last year.  It was Christmas Eve after all and I was a bit rushed.  Anyway here it is:

Sat. Dec. 24

Christmas Eve and you know it's going to be a good day when the first little girl tells me she already had high heels so not to bring those to her, but her sister did need them. She did tell me where Costco was in case I needed to pick anything up at the last minute.

 Teen ager wearing a Shirt with "Dear Santa, It was my crazy Mother's fault" and "Naughty" printed across her bottom.

 A couple of family groups including three lads who told me they werè making their mother happy, I told them that was a good Christmas present for her Had a little girl that would not smile for anything until her Mother blew a small bicycle horn she had on her keychain

 Young man brought me his list, (I'm going to start publishing the lists too), that listed  nine things, of which his Mom told him he couldn't have three

 A little guy who wanted a "cars" table,  "Cars 2" is by far the most requested video this year.

A little girl just requsted a Barbie , the pink one!  Barbies and american Girl dolls are about even this year

Just had the cutest little girl, about 9 months,  in a red dress just sit on my lap.  No drama she just cooed  and laughed the whole time.

 

Brother/ sister combination up next, he wanted an iPhone, she wanted a pink and purple.    Pink and purple what she wouldn't say but she did clarify it by emphatically saying dark pink.   Brother said he thought she wanted a cheerleader but I'm not sure how that works. 

 We have  had a lot of last minute shoppers, family groups,  today   Another eazy-bake oven which seems to be the  most popular thing for girls. Right up there with baby dolls. Legos continue to be popular with the boys and I had one little girl who wanted a tinker toy set to build with.  One little guy wanted a hammer, screwdriver, and a wrench.  I asked if he was going to build things or fix them.  He decided he would be fixing things. 

Spurs (wish I could remember what this was but I'm drawing a blank)

 

One thing I am really going to miss this year is a family that I had visited on Christmas Eve for at least 5 years.  It was so much fun to watch those children get bigger and older.  It also brought a tear to my eye when one little girl, who was my favorite, reached that age!  You know the age I mean, when everybody says there is no Santa Claus!  Well, Faithful Reader, y'all know there is a Santa Claus because he represents the Spirit and Love that is the Christmas season!  I'm still going to miss that family this year!

Saturday in the Boathouse

December 1, 2012
     Santa had a great day at the Boathouse in downtown Manteo today, taking pictures with Manteo Elementary PTO and over 100 great kids!  The ladies of the PTO had everything organized so it ran very smoothly and I didn't hear anyone have a meltdown from waiting in line too long.  The photographer was excellent and always ready with the camera, after all, sometimes the picture is only there for an instant!  And I can't say enough about how wonderful the children were!  Santa could just feel the love pouring off them! One of responsibilites Santa has is to make sure the children know that they are loved just as much.  I think we only had two little ones that wouldn't sit with Santa. Now that's not to say there weren't some tears, but those pictures will be worth their weight in gold someday!  There were a couple who started to shy away, but in both cases, once I got their Moms to turn them so they were looking at me, I was able to get them to come sit in my lap!
     There were a lot of requests for trucks and baby dolls, and American Girl dolls.  One little guy wanted a dump truck, a garbage truck and a monster truck.  Santa even had one request for a bike with an American Girl seat on the back, which was a rather unusual one.  iPads and iPod Touches were big and air rifles also! There was one request for a sniper rifle, and two sisters each wanted a horse.  I asked if they were going to keep them in their bedroom.  After one little girl   had  run down her list she confided in me, "I still like Mickey"  I told her Santa did too!  Another one wanted a hamster and her Mom said she could have it, too!  The most unusual  request of the day was the little girl who wanted a tree house, ten steps up, big enough for four(because she wanted to be able to invite her three friends)...and a zipline to get down from it!  So all in all, it was a very good day for this Santa!
    

The Beginning

December 1:
First Santa gig of the year last night so its time to restart Santa's Blog.
    The venue was a little unusual but it was a nice start.  Now that I am here on the Outer Banks I am having to make all new contacts and bookings, but I have had a lot of help especially from my friend Gail, who knows everybody!  Gail is definitely on the "Nice" list!
    I was located in the lobby of the theatre formerly know as The Showcase, that has been renamed the Outer Banks Jubilee.  The show is called "Christmas Times a Comin' "  The music that I heard was really good and it continues through December 22.  Santa will be there each Friday after the show!
    So Santa was in the lobby when the show was over.  It was a small group of children, mostly belonging to the performers.  There were a couple of unusual requests for Santa, tho!  One came from a young lad who asked for a basketball goal, but not a real one.  He wanted a "fake" goal for his bedroom, not a real one that stood in the driveway!  The best of the evening was the little girl who wanted a bunk bed.  When I asked which one she replied she just wanted the top one so I guess Santa will have to include an Anti-Gravity unit also!