Thanksgiving Weekend

Well, I just finished 20+ hours in the big red suit this weekend!  So I'm going to give you a sample of what I heard from the wonderful children! There are a few pictures of them earlier on my timeline, check them out!  The weekend started at Kitty Hawk Kites and went to The Christmas Shop on Black Friday and after that I alternated locations Saturday and finished at The Christmas Shop today!

     One of the first little girls to sit on my lap, asked for a Barbie doll and when I asked her, as I usually do, how many Barbies she had, the reply was a very definite 56!  Another little girl who must have been from the northern provinces asked for a snowboard because she already had skis.  This year, by far the thing most requested is Slime, usually by girls!  One little boy asked for a parrot, a Nerf gun( second most requested item) and a drone.  I had to ask him if he was going to shoot at the parrot with the Nerf gun, but he said no, he was going to shoot at the drone!  the very next young guy wanted an Aircraft Carrier, a toy one he quickly added!  Good thing, wouldn't want to blow the budget on one of those big guys!

      There was someone who wanted to recreate a photo from 10 years ago. I didn't have the heart to tell her I had only been doing the gig at Kitty Hawk Kites for 6 years, but I guess, to some folks all Santas look alike!  There was one little girl wearing a t-shirt that said, "I love my family more than I love Pizza, and I really love pizza!"  A little boy had one that said "Cookie Tester"  Lots of requests for Legos and unicorns again this year.

      One little girl, no, there were two, totally separate requests, hours apart, both girls,  that wanted a frog!  One boy asked for two Nerf guns, so he could give his Dad one, of course!  There was a request for a gift card to Nike and a young lady asked for gift cards to Starbucks and Bed, Bath and Beyond! 

     On Saturday there were two sisters who came together, the youngest one asked for a doll that moves while her older sister, a teenager, asked for Peace on Earth.  If only it were mine to give, she would have it now! Another little one asked for "bath and hair stuff"  There was also someone who asked for a monster truck, black, named Fred!  and another who wanted a Gravedigger monster truck!  This was followed by a little girl who wanted a mermaid Barbie.

     There were several requests for costume, an elf costume, a unicorn costume and a dinosaur costume. Several requests for dinosaurs and when I asked one little guy if he wanted a real one he determined he wanted a stuffed one because he didn't want to have to feed a real one!  A basketball hoop was one request along with a fireball that flies up in the air by itself!  Another little girl asked for a beanbag chair.

   Now there were two very unusual this weekend.  The first one Mom had to explain it to me.  This one girl asked for her class elf for the weekend.  It seems that her Spanish class has an elf that goes home with some one each weekend and that person has to write about the elf's adventures in his journal, in Spanish.  It reminded me of Jimmy's kindergarten class that had a hamster, named Rita, that went home with someone each weekend.  Jimmy loved Rita!

Now it isn't often that Santa hears a gift request for something totally new to him, but I had one boy ask for a toilet paper roll gun!  So after some research I found this:  In a couple of days I will share some of the letters to Santa I got this weekend!  That's it for now from Santa's chair!  Happy shooting!

Christmas Shop in November

The last couple of days Santa has been at The Christmas Shop and I would like to share with y'all some of the requests from the children that stopped to see me. Next week I will be there on Friday, Saturday and Sunday!  One of the first little guys that came by wanted a dirt bike with a gas tank.  When I looked a little puzzled, his Mom explained that having a gas tank would mean it wasn't battery powered.  Slime seems to be very popular this year, in the early going anyway.  I had a young lady that wanted a basketball hoop, she already had a basketball!  Did a set of photos with a couple and a black Scotty dog , all dressed in plaid.  The dog also wore  a set of antlers and still was very well behaved!  I had one little boy, about 3, who wanted a bucket, no explanation was forthcoming because his folks had no idea where that came from!   One of the moments that helped restore my faith in our young people was the teenager that told me what she wanted for Christmas was for the two people who her family drew off the angel tree to have a nice Christmas!

       Since I am in the back room that is Santa filled, ornament, figures, etc. sometimes I will play a little game where I will sit perfectly still until someone walks past me and then I will move, just turn my head or cross my arms.  It frequently will produce an interesting response because they were assuming I was one of the figures.  Today there was a Mom and her daughter who came into the room and walked right past so I just turned my head. Mom was startled but her daughter almost jumped out of her skin!  There was another young lady who wanted an Apple watch but she couldn't explain to me how she would deal with a big red thing on her wrist!

     Every year there are one or two things that happen that really demonstrate the spirit of Christmas to me and really make my season.  Today it started with a little girl about 5 who couldn't get over the fact that Santa was there and she did not know that I was going to be there!  We talked for a bit and she showed me a seashell she had found on the beach today after looking "all day long"! We chatted a bit longer and she suddenly said "Santa, I want you to have this shell!"  Well, I graciously accepted it, since she was demonstrating the spirit of giving by taking this hard-won shell and giving it to someone else!  But that's not all, Folks!

After a bit she and her Mom went on to another room but her Dad, carrying a younger brother was still close to me.  So I called him over and gave him the shell, asking him if he would make sure that this generous little girl got her shell back on Christmas morn!  I suggested that if she left Santa cookies maybe leaving the shell on the plate!  I just wish I could see her face on Christmas day!  And that's one of the reasons I do this!  More from Santa's lap next week!

Belk

Just a short Santa report about today appearance at Belk. We are still moving, even today, and I'm running on fumes! One of the reasons I really love doing this appearance at Belk, even though it is early in the season, is the repeat visitors I get! I have done this particular gig for 5 or 6 years now and I recognize some families from the first time even! Regardless of the weather, we were very busy all afternoon and the folks at Belk had outdone themselves in the way things were set up. The marketing theme was Frozen and we had "Anna" there also, and "Frozen" cupcakes and a station were the kids could make ornaments, and hot chocolate and cookies, of course! So there was a lot going on and excitement ran throughout the store. Of course it was, as always, the children that made it for me, even the 90 year old who sat on Santa's lap and told me she didn't need anything but she would like another year, please, and I hope she gets it! Several little ones told me they wanted presents and I assured them that would happen if they were to behave all the way to Christmas! There were a few refusals but not a lot, mostly boys in the target range 1-3, and one little girl about 4. My favorite was the little girl who came back and gave me a hug about 7 times, maybe more! One little boy made sure I knew that he wanted a Christmas tree! Eventually my favorite extended family came in for their group picture but there weren't as many of them this year. I think there are 4 sisters and their children. Today only 2 of the sisters were present and when I asked , one told me the others had gotten too old. I should have told her about the 90 year old! So that's the tale for today from Santa's lap! I'll have more for you next week!