November 26, 2017

1. Saturday was another busy day for Santa and I have some more lists and cards to Santa to share with you. It all started at Kitty Hawk Kites at 1 pm and ended at 7 at Southern Crossings in Southern Shores! I do have to say I was exhausted today and I was doing the Children's Sermon at both services this morning. Had that not been the case I might have just slept in!
   
2. Here are some of the highlights from the day. It was warmer but the elves rigged up an umbrella to give Santa some shade. It was pretty constant all afternoon, in fact at about 4 with a line that was snaking down the boardwalk I warned my head elf, we might have to cut it off, something I hate to do! Santa wants to see ALL the kids! Luckily I was able to see all that were there!
3. Unicorns figured heavy in the requests again yesterday and remote controlled Tyrannosaurus Rex ! One little guy said he wanted it to do what he told it to, I think he may have had an older sister or brother! Did have a kid ask for THE sleigh today. Pointed out to him that Land's End has one in it's catalog that lists for $9,500 with free shipping!
4. Something new this year is a lot of requests for drones! Of course lots wanted phone or tablets and a heavy concentration on hoverboards! There were also a lot of requests for nerf guns! One fellow wanted a bow and arrow so he could go hunting deer with his Dad! Another wanted golf clubs, bag and shoes. Maybe the most unusual request I had was a little one that asked for the board game Sorry! Don't think I've had that one before!      
5. Santa had his picture taken with a pair of English Bulldogs that were very nice and didn't slobber too much on his boots! Later on, Santa got a picture with 4 Newfoundland Dogs! Thank goodness two were still about half grown and only weighed about 85 pounds apiece! They were very well behaved and perhaps I will post that picture later this week.
6. Hatchables were big again this year! And the afternoon saw a lot of refusals to sit on Santa's lap, screaming and hollering and kicking! It seems to run in cycles at times. If a little one sees someone crying and fussing, frequently they will also. Santa has learned that if they are a kicker you put them on the floor between your legs. It saves the shins! It's interesting that the parents of the screamers are of two separate camps with virtually no middle ground! They either just go ahead and take the picture and figure they have a keepsake or they simply don't take the picture and say they will wait till next year!  I have found that usually if they are screaming when first placed on Santa's lap that seldom stops so it's best to go ahead and  take the picture.  Occasionally, if the photographer is ready you can get a shot when they are first placed on Santa's lap before the screaming starts!     
7. Well, that's all for me tonight, Santa will be resting up til next weekend when he has a very busy schedule. As we get closer to the weekend I will post times and locations for anyone interested. Enjoy the following pictures!

A Halloween shot with my favorite Judy Garland!

A shot from a Christmas in July gig this summer!

November 14, 2017

      Ok I'm going to try to do a better job this year of keeping current on posts about my adventures sitting in Santa's Chair! I know I say that every year but it does get busy and this year I have 35 scheduled appearances!
      Anyway, this Santa made his first official appearance last Saturday at Belk and had about a hundred children come and see him, ...including two cute little furred babies that are in the following picture! This is always one of my favorite events and it was again this year. One really neat thing that happens at this appearance is there are some returnees. One extended family, I think the three Moms might be sisters, has been to see me at least 4 years now and it is so much fun to see the little ones grow up! The little girls are all dressed in their prettiest dresses and the little boys( though there was only one little boy this year) are in coats and ties. I asked about the missing ones and the oldest girl told me they had moved to Raleigh. I had to give the Moms a hug and thank them for bringing the kids back!
      As far as requests go: Santa was asked for baby dolls and Unicorns and dump trucks and red race cars with several saying they hadn't decided yet! I think my favorite was the little girl who had written a note that said: You don't have to bring me any books because Grammy is getting those for me.(I told her Santa likes children that read) I want a coat and a scarf and ear muffs. (At this point I asked if she was expecting cold weather) Then she showed me the back of the note where she had written, "Please don't make it a big coat" She told me that she prefers smaller coats! I managed to slip the note in Grammy's pocket when I hugged her. I like to get the notes back to parents so they have them as keepsakes!
      This year while I was at the Belk store here in North Carolina, one of my former students from Cerro Gordo, IL, was doing Santa with his wife as Mrs. Claus at a Belk store in FL.  It is indeed a small world!
      In addition to all the children, there were at least three different groups of ladies 5 to 8 in number that got their picture taken with Santa! And I didn't pinch any of them, tho I usually say to the person taking the picture, "Tell me just before you take the picture and I will pinch them!" And that's the latest from Santa's Lap!!!

December 8, 2016

1. As always happens when I delay writing about what Santa learned from the kids, I have begun to forget. So hereś the latest: Sunday Village Realty hosted a Breakfast with Santa at Pamlico Jackś which is becoming one of my favorite events! We had lotś of kids come through even a couple where I had early info and was able to surprise them, which is always a great thing for me! I think well over a hundred children in all. The one disappointment for me was we had a run of cryi...ng babies who didn´t want to sit on Santa´s lap, about 6 or 7 in a row! It kind of becomes contagious after a while! I know I have mentioned before the 10 month to 2 1/2 rule. Between those two ages, it is 50-50 whether they cry or not! With boys a bit worse 60-40 for crying. Anyway in the middle of that group came a youngster I knew and she has always come to me before but the crying was catching and it wasn´t going to happen. Too bad because her Dad told me she was going to tell me she wants a pickle jar for Christmas, not a jar of pickles but a PICKLE JAR!
   The main thing I am hearing is an American Girl Doll and Legos this year, with a number of requests for Hatchables, to whom I always tell there is no guarantee that they will get one, even though I have the elves working 3 shifts, 24 hours a day on them! Did have one little girl ask for a Karaoke machine. Had another request for a chainsaw, can you tell we have had a hurricane? Boys still want trucks, not many trains, baking sets are very popular again. Finally, the best of the day was the little guy who wanted the kids who weren´t going to get toys to have his! Will publish some pictures of some great drawings that were given to me.
   Started my video calls this week, had 2 scheduled Tuesday and did 2 recorded ones also after spending some time with Miss Bonnie´s group from Friends of KIds!
   Santa has another busy weekend ahead starting Friday night and running through Sunday Brunch. I have posted the announcements for the various events on this page! See yáll soon!