Hey I know....

Hi!

Let me first say a big Santa hello to Lucas who is still under the weather.  I hope you feel better soon!

Second, I figured out how you can tell when I do a new posting. Scroll to the very bottom of my blog and you will find a place to subscribe. When you do, you will receive an email when a new post is published.

Third, I would like to say a big Santa hello to everyone who reads my blog! As of yesterday, I have had more people read my blog than ever before with over 545 pages viewed in four countries. AND, my blog is on five different hosting sites. It's all kind of cool when you consider that when I first started, only 45 pages were viewed for the whole year!

Fourth, "Boy did he, Boy did he..." This is a code to see if one particular person is really viewing my blogs. Only we know what this means.... We shall see?

Fifth, today starts the big push for Santa to see as many kids as possible while maintaining tip top shape. We are at T- 10 days and counting. No doubt, tomorrow will be one day to be remembered. On Tuesday some Schools get out for Christmas break, and the remaining kids get out on Thursday. Yikes!

We had a puppy come and visit me yesterday. It was a chocolate brown Springer Spaniel that was less than 8 months old. When he saw Ole' St. Nick, he was all over me! He was in my face, trying to find something under my beard, and it wanting to wash my face extra super clean. And yes, he still had strong puppy breath. Really cute!

I found out that the mall is having a puppy adoption day next weekend and guess who is getting ready to have some pictures taken together? That would be me! Too bad it falls on December 22 - the busiest weekend of the season.

Here's Lori hard at work "power thinking."

A beautiful young fan.

This Marine is telling Santa that his long-term girlfriend just broke up with him. He asked Santa if he was ever going to fall in love again. Santa tried to encouraged him saying,

"Certainly! You still have lots of years ahead of you."

Success! Her 1st time coming to sit on Santa's lap without crying.

This girl's brother refused to see Santa.

So...she is showing him "how it's done" and how easy it really is.

Here's the fact of the day: The popular story, "Twas the night before Christmas" was written by Clement Moore in the small town of Troy, New York.

Sweet dreams,

   Santa

Only Twelve Days til Christmas!

Hey there!

I am happy to report all is well. Elf John plowed the sled's take off and landing strip, and even watered the community Pianos! He's such a good Elf.





This is a picture of me in action giving the official Santa tickle, while Mom was saying, "Get him, Santa!"

This little boy had no problems telling Santa what he wanted for Christmas,

but he would not get in Santa's lap.

This little boy was more curious about what present he was going to get from Santa's sleigh, then saying "Hi" to Santa.

Taking advantage of a quiet moment...just kidding!

 I was "Power Thinking!"

These guys were hard to get corralled, 

but we did it!

It seems like every year someone asks me about the Twelve Days of Christmas. The Twelve Days of Christmas has nothing to do with a "count down" to Christmas Day! It's about the 12 days after Christmas. Christmas Day itself (December 25) ushers in twelve days of celebration, ending only on January 6 with the feast of the Epiphany. I hope this clears it up once and for all.

Santa does not know what's going on, but lately he has become "Encyclopedia Santa" or "The Red Suited Google." A lot of factoid questions are flying my direction. I will share some of them over my next few blogs.

Hope you have an excellent night!

   Santa

P.S. I hope you feel better soon, Lucas!

And Another One Bites the Dust...

Hey there!







This young lady is a vulnerable adult who has come to see me four times now with her mom, and we talk about the toys she wants on her list.

This is a special needs boy who is wearing my "Magic Santa Hat." There's a little button in the back that the photographer can push to make the hat's tassel  wiggle. After pictures were done the boy ran to the photographer, grabbed the hat, and came back!

Before this young 4th grade man sat down with me, his parents slipped me a note written by the boy's teacher. Apparently, he is in big trouble at school because of his foul mouth and being a bully. The parents know that he still believes in Santa, so Santa was asked to have a serious talk with him. I was asked to tell him that if he does not shape up by Christmas, he is not going to get anything he's asked for on his Christmas list.

So....this young man came up to see me and I whispered in his ear that Santa has heard how he has been behaving at school. I asked him, "Is it true?" He said, "Yes." with panic in his face! I then explained that he needs to be a good boy in order for Santa to bring him some gifts. He responded, "I will try and I'm real sorry you found out about this."

It has come to my attention that there are some people who do not know about my Elves on the Shelf. Here's a quick lesson: Google it! And watch the video. lol

If you don't know how to Google (yet somehow can read my blog) there's a movie coming out shortly that you can go see as well. ;o)

Happy trails,
   Santa

OK, who left the sprinklers on?

Hello my soggy friends,

Left me first say I expected Ohio weather to be diffrent than what I am experiencing. The weather from the start of the season has been just plain yucky! It has rained all or part of every day I have been here.  Tonight we have thunderstorms (but it has rained all day). I mean it's great if your a DUCK!, but come on, Santa does NOT have feathers! Let Santa think a bit........Yep, it has only been 24 days so far and I am wondering if I need to get a boat or something?

There is one good thing about rain; you usually don't have to shove it. I hear back home we are looking at 12 inches in the past 24 hours. Hey is there something going on with the #24???  I had better get the weather Elf on this right away......Oh, Burrrtt!






You can't get cuter than this! What a GREAT way to start the day!

This little girl wanted a picture with Santa, but she is literally shaking

while she was sitting on my lap. She was really super scared. Poor thing! But she didn't cry!!

These two little sisters were both complaining (and bragging) about their Elf on the Shelf - "Elf-fred." He has been hiding in their dresser drawer, and when they opened up the drawer and saw him there, it scared them!

This young lady broke her little wing and asked for Santa's autograph!

Do you remember this little girl? She's the one who would give Santa a "high 5" but not get any closer. Today they tried again...and we did get a little closer. She gave Santa a kiss, by kissing her hand then placing her hand on Santa's lips.

Today, Santa had two of his fans come and talk to him about their new Elf, Dennis. He arrived yesterday. When they opened his box, he was already missing! Dennis had zipped out and was found hiding in the Christmas tree.

Santa has had a busy weekend! I look forward to the coming week, but need to go to bed.
Talk to you tomorrow!
   Santa

Guess What Happened to Santa?

Greetings!

Sorry, I have no pictures for this post. My helpers have been sloughing off.

This afternoon an older couple stopped by to see Santa. They said that they had been watching Santa give and give and give, and decided that he needed to receive something. So they pulled a present out of a bag for me. I asked if Santa was allowed to open the present now, or if I had to wait? They both kind of giggled and said, "No, we're not Santa. You can open it now!" So I did and I got a nice box of Old Fashioned Peanut Brittle. I thanked them very much, over and over. It was an awesome surprise as Santa doesn't get many gifts....except for all the cookies I get to eat on Christmas!

Today I received requests for an Elf to come as an Elf on the Shelf yet this season. I told them that I would try to arrange that. I have also received a lot of reports of activities that my Elves have done over the past few days. Here's just a sampling:

• Some of my Elves have fallen into empty water pitchers. 
• Somehow one of my Elves ended up in a container of whole coffee beans. 
• And, of course, various lamps in different bedrooms, two TP'd Christmas trees, and one trying to stay away from the house cat. (The family is getting a little concerned for the Elf's safety!) I told them that at night the Elf can handle the cat - no problem. But during the day, the Elf had better be protected!

Today I had a whole family of 7 come to take their picture with Santa in their pajamas! They all had the same homemade T-shirt that said, "The Wilson Christmas Picture." It was really cute! We also had the annual meeting of the "Ladies Aide" committee. But this year they had the addition of their 25-yr old grand-daughter. They all wanted their picture with Santa together (8-9 people in this grouping). There was so many ladies around Santa, Santa didn't know where to put his hands.....so he SAT on them! (Cuz you never want to get in trouble with Mrs. Claus!)

I also got a little forewarning about tomorrow. A grandmother stopped in to warn Santa that she is coming with 14 grandchildren and they ALL will get their picture with Santa at the same time! I thanked her for the forewarning! I told her the earlier in the day, the better.

There were a lot of shy kids today. They ranged in age from toddler (which I expect) to pre-teen (which I didn't expect). I don't know why people are so hesitant to see me, but it must have something to do with wondering if they are on the "naughty" or "nice" list. Most parents are exasperated trying to figure out why, and it's really amusing.

One mother said, "My daughter's having her picture taken with Santa and that's it." So she grabbed her child, and sat on the floor with her in front of Santa for the picture. Much to my pleasure, the child screamed, kicked, hit, wiggled, and was just plain obnoxious for the photo! Afterward, the mother looked at me and started to laugh. I looked back with a big smile on my face and said, "Welcome to my world!" She said, "How do you put up with this every day?" I said, "Gladly!"

Hopefully it's going to be a big weekend, and I need my beauty sleep.
See you tomorrow!
    Santa

Did you miss me?

Hey there!

Yes, it is old Santa and I have missed blogging with you the last few days. Sorry for that, but I have been busy and just got caught up on my duties.

The last few days have been both fun and frustrating for old St. Nick. I think the days are getting shorter and my lists are getting longer! 

I need to do a shout out to Mrs. Claus for keeping the home fire burning and watching over the Elves while Santa is away. I know it is hard and she does things I should be doing, but we talk every day and use Skype when we can. I remember the days before all this fancy stuff was invented and wonder how we did it. So thanks to Mrs.Claus for all she does!

After today we have only 20 days left before the big day! I can hardly wait.

Today we must have set a record for the number of kiddos who asked the Dude in the Red Suit what I wanted for Christmas! That's easy! To make it home and have some of Mrs. Claus' home cooking.

Today the question was asked whether a person can bring someone with a disability to see Santa. Those of you who know Santa at all know how crazy that question is! Santa excepts EVERYBODY. So tomorrow the person who asked is going to bring her disabled brother to see Santa for the first time in 30 years to see Santa. I almost wanted to cry when I heard that.

Another strange question we are getting is how much do we charge to allow people to see Santa if they do not want a picture? This has happened at least 3 times in the last 2 days! And the answer is, "It is always free to chat, talk, and sit with Santa!

Here's a few pictures I want to share with you of Santa and some of today's visitors:

This girl was my first visitor of the day. What a little sweetie!

This girl would look to the sky, tap her chin with her finger while thinking of what to ask for, then say, "ipod." Then she would do it all over again, and say, "ipad." Then again, "iphone." Every time, the gift became more and more expensive! It was really funny!

This little girl is really afraid of Santa. Mom and dad would like her to take a picture with Santa, but the closest she would get is to give Santa a "High Five." So, Santa decided to walk around a little bit. As soon as I got out of the chair, the little girl made a dive for it. Her dad said, "Are you getting in Santa's chair?" (I didn't care...whatever works!) After awhile, I walked by and she squealed and ran away. But, if I didn't make eye contact with her, she would stay in the chair. A while later, they family went home saying that they are going to come back later this week to "Try it again." We'll see what happens!

These girls were the last ones I was able to chat with today. They are great fans!

I hope I got everyone caught up. Please feel free to comment or ask questions in the comment section, and I'll answer them as quickly as I can.

Sweet dreams,
   Santa

What did I do Now!

Welcome back!

I did not forget yesterday's blog, I was just too plain tired out. So I am going to combine my thoughts for both days here. Santa is so smart!

Okay, let me refraise that. I am smart, but get a load of this. Santa's mind went out for breakfast and forgot to tell me to pick it back up. Today was a normal Saturday for the most part - I woke up earlier than normal, had my driver get up early, and off to the mall we went.  

At the mall and unlocked my changing area and got dressed and ready to greet my fans. I looked at my Santa watch and saw I was almost late to get to my big chair, so off I went (without my escorts) and when I entered the main part of the mall I noticed the Santa set was not ready. So I stopped and asked a Security guard, "What's up?" He said, "Ummm Santa, you're an hour early. The set opens at 11am not 10am."  Oops, Santa missed the mark on that one!








Here some of my fans that came to see me today!

This brother and sister were really a joy to talk to! And Santa made them laugh and laugh!

I don't know who enjoyed it more - Santa, these siblings, or their parents!!

I wish we would have gotten a picture of this, but it was just too busy. Yes, I said it was busy today! Yeah!! I saw an 8-year old boy who had severe cerebral palsy with no muscle control in his arms or legs. His parents asked if Santa would be willing to hold him/cradle him like an infant. The dad warned me that he would be heavy. I said, "Fine, no problem." The parents picked him up out of his wheelchair and place him in my lap. I didn't have any problems holding him, and then his 4-year old sister climbed into my lap too and they had their picture taken together with me. The parents were just thrilled! I was thrilling for me, too, to bring joy to the family - even if it was only for a few minutes.

This can be filed under, "The Odd One of the Day." A mom with two children (a 3-year old and an infant) wanted to know if I was willing to take a picture of her two children together. However, the infant was sleeping in her car seat and the mom didn't want her to wake up. Soooo, the mom wanted to know if I would hold the entire car seat with the infant inside on one knee and the other child on my other knee! Even tho this was quite challenging for Ol' Saint Nick, let it be known that Santa is very accommodating and flexible!

My Elves on the Shelf are starting to report in, so I need to sign off for the evening.

Have a good night's sleep!

   Santa