Another First...

Hello my fellow bloggers!

As many of you know Santa sees a lot of people each day. But I am continually fascinated by what comes up in conversations with kids. Just a few examples from today - a little girl wants an umbrella and nothing else; a little boy asked me to find a boyfriend for his mom, and a mom asked me to bring her son home safely from his military deployment. I've also had three requests so far for a hippopotamus!

Santa with a mom and her daughter....

Two sisters in college showing mom that they still took out time to see Santa.

The young lady with the dark hair asked Santa for a new headlight for her car.                                                          

This little boy is 6 years old. He climbed into my lap and snuggled right in this his picture.

He was so happy to finally meet me!

This was the first time his parents brought him to see Santa.

We had two separate families of kids who came in wanting me to know their new address. One just moved a few cities away from their previous house, but wanted to make sure their presents moved with them. The other family wanted to know if their Christmas presents are going to make it to Sweden because their mom got a transfer to Stockholm and they wanted to make sure their presents would make it to their new flat. I assured each of them that they would get their presents on time and thanked them for the update.

Sweet dreams!
   Santa

Hellooooo!!! Can Anybody Hear Me???

These two pictures were taken at 11:30am today to show how BUSY and CROWDED the mall was. Santa wanted to test the mall's ability to sustain echoes, but he refrained.

We had a special guest today, and wouldn't you just know it? My camera was dead. We had our first picture with an animal - it was a Golden Lab service dog. The dog was excited to see Santa and jumped at me, but with years under my belt (watch it!) I know how to lovingly block him off. Even my helpers were impressed. Taking the photos with the dog and his owner were challenging, but they got done and everyone was happy. The owner even bought two separate packages for their friends.







This picture is of a little girl with her grandma and she is looking at grandma's phone.







I've had another couple of reports of Elves on the Shelf misbehaving. "Beth" was messing with someone's art supplies. I asked the little girl if Beth drew a picture of Santa? The girl said, "No." I was relieved and disappointed at the same time.

"Kris10" was looking through a bunch of old photos. I asked the little girl if "Kristen" was doing a bad thing? The little girl said that she didn't ask....Santa does not quite know what to do with these two Elves, but I'm sure I'll think of something.

All in all today was a pretty tame day and I'm looking forward to December 1st - it should be a good weekend!

    Santa

A Big Day of Firsts!

Hey there,

The boy below was just recently adopted and his parents decided that today is his "Big day of Firsts." It was his 1st time going to Burger King, his first time going to an eye doctor...or any doctor, his first time seeing Santa, and his 1st day picking up his new glasses (which were not ready yet).

When the boy came to see me, the first thing he said was, "Okay, what's this whole thing about Santa?" He was naturally inquisitive, and very delightful. After talking a little bit about who I am, what I do, and what main question I'm going to ask him, he said "Okay...I would like a toy." It was only 11am in the morning, and his big day of Firsts was already very overwhelming to him.

These cute little twin boys were finishing each other's sentences, and wanting the same thing as the other one. The only way the parents can tell them apart is that they wear different colored glasses, otherwise they are identical in every way.

This little boy was "Buzz Light Year" boy and he really liked it when Santa said, "To infinity and beyond!" Needless to say, he would like anything Buzz Light Year from Santa.

And this little boy cut out pictures from magazines of what he wants for Christmas and pasted them on this sheet of paper for Santa. Santa had to memorize the pictures, because the boy wanted his paper back. He wants a Nerf gun, Star Wars Legos, and 4-5 other items.

A group of disabled adults came to see Santa today, too. I could tell they wanted a hug, so I got up from my chair and gave them each a hug. However, when I got to the last guy he also wanted a kiss on the lips as he REALLY likes Santa! Unfortunately, Santa had to say, "No" and told him that the only adult Santa kisses is Mrs. Claus! He was VERY disappointed. 

Silly (one of my Elves on the Shelf) has reported in that he is REALLY dizzy! I guess he had his first merry-go round ride on his family's Christmas tree. I told him to lay down and that he would feel better soon.

A little boy also told me today that his Elf on the Shelf - Fred - was eating all the candy in the candy dish. So, I guess Santa now needs to make an appointment for Fred to see the dentist.

Hope everyone has a good night's sleep.

Watch out for those elves!

  Santa

T- 28 Days...but who's counting? :)

Hello my bloggy friends!

I have to admit that today was a really slow day at the old Santa set. You can tell the kids are in school. 

I bet you can guess what the title means. Yep, 28 days to go until the big day! A kid asked me today if I was excited that December was almost here, and I said I could hardly wait. Another kid asked me  what I like to eat when I get home? I said, Mrs. Claus' meatloaf. (Man, that's is some good food!!)

If  anybody is wondering if I have had any animals yet, the answer is nope. We can have them at any time, but nobody has come with one yet. I have seen two service animals over the past few days - one was a Shepherd mix and the other looked like a poodle - but I could not tell for sure.







The little girl in this picture was a little shy to talk with Santa, but Santa asked to see her Barbie doll...and she said, "Sure!" While talking, the girl got a little closer and closer until Santa was able to get this cute picture with her.

This little girl is wearing a hat, scarf, and mittens all-in-one! She was really proud of her outfit and wouldn't take her hands out of the mittens at all. I need to get one of those for Mrs. Claus!






      Today's helpers are Sheri, Katie, and Dan.


Hope everything is going well with everyone. Keep the comments coming!

  Santa

Now Serving "Santa for 17"

Hi there!

Today is the Saturday after Thanksgiving and it was busy! Yeah! A welcomed change of pace. There was a fairly steady stream of kids and no one waited in line for more than 5 minutes. Needless to say, the day went by quickly.

As an interesting side note, at the end of yesterday's and today's shift we had a group of people who wanted their picture taken together. Yesterday was a group of 10 and tonight was a group of 17! With a group that large, some re-arranging of the set was needed. But we made it work! It appeared to be a 4-generation picture. Santa had the patriarch of the family on his knee.Which was really cool!

"Murphy's Law" even affects Santa. After we finished taking the photo, and everyone dispersed, someone noticed that two people had their eyes closed. So they had to gather everyone again...included some who had made it out to the parking lot...to re-shoot the picture. And much to my pleasure and surprise, there was not one complaint or grumble!

The three photos below my helpers found interesting enough to snap. The first two are of some well-dressed, well-mannered kids that I was able to visit with. The third picture is of a little girl who decided to dress a little differently for Santa. She decided to come as Rudolph! She wore antlers and a blinking red nose. How fun!

I have been told that all of the Elves on a Shelf arrived to their homes on time. And requests have already started to come in for new families.

I talked to a teacher from an elementary school who has an Elf on a Shelf in her classroom. On Friday when she stopped at school, she found that the Elf had stacked all of the kids desks on top of each other. She even showed me a picture. The Elf was hiding on top of a map by the blackboard. See there! Even Elves go to school.

Tomorrow is a welcomed short day for Santa. So I will see you all tomorrow for more stories and photos.

Take care,
   Santa

BLACK FRIDAY LIVE'S....RUN !

Hello my Black Friday friends!

Some of you may be asking why I picked that topic....  Well, it was a weird, different, and maddening day. Plus, it was filled with not-so-wonderful news. I was told today that there will be no more "Workshop Santa" attire for the rest of the season. It was decided that I should be in full coat, hat and gloves...one that is being provided for me - not my own suit. As you can imagine, Santa does not necessarily agree with the changes, but is being compliant.

In the picture below, I'm shown in the "new look." How is it?

Of course, the kids are great and I really enjoy talking with them! For only the 2nd time this season, I have been asked for a Kindle Fire. More kids are asking for baby buggies than in years past. And kids are asking for clothing and animals (other than dogs and cats). Also, college-age students are asking for ipads.

Today I was able to give 2 Santa bells to a gentleman who came to see me as he thought the picture of us would cheer up his wife. Last year, their daughter and grand-daughter died in a house fire and this holiday season is really difficult for them. The man was really touched by the gift of the Santa bells and he is going to put them on their tree in remembrance of their lost loved ones.

A little 6-year old boy came to see me today and had LOTS of questions about me - Why is my beard so white? Where are the reindeer? Does the North Pole have snow? Does Santa have a dog? After answering all of his questions, and learning about what he wanted for Christmas, the boy left. I then proceeded to stand up and stretch, and the boy came running back to me. I said, "Hi, you're back!" He replied, "Santa, you can STAND!" (Everyone busted up laughing.) The boy told me that he has never ever, ever seen Santa stand. I told him that I can walk, too! 

Hope you survive shopping! I'll be waiting to see you!

  Santa

I bet you thought I forgot...

Hey there,

I hope everyone had a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

I did and I even was able to be with family for the first time in years. Yeah, Santa could fly with the help of his Reindeer, but they need a day off also. Besides there are the Reindeer games to prepare for...

Mrs. Claus had a great Thanksgiving at Santa's sister's house. They even played kickball North Pole style (I wish saw that!).  The drive home was very challenging because of the snow, blowing snow, and ice. But they made it home in one piece.

Tonight is the main night I send the majority of the elves our for Elf on the Shelf.  If you are wondering what I am talking about, you need to check it out on the Web. There is also a movie you can check out.  Hey, did you see the Elf balloon in the big parade today???  Kind of cool!!

Tomorrow is one of the busiest days for people to meet with Santa. So I am off to bed early so I can be as bright as possible to greet all my little (and not so little) guests.

Happy dreams,
  Santa

Name that Animal!

Hey my friends,

And you thought I was kidding about the title. Well look below and see if you have the names correct. I bet you could be wrong on one or two.

  

The following photos are from the Santa set in the evening. I think the waterfall looks better with the flood lights on, as does the Christmas lights and Santa set.

Today I finished my last shift before our big Thanksgiving Day here in America (I know a few followers are from other countries). The reason I bring this up is that Santa gets to enjoy this day as a day off...my last day off before heading out for deliveries. Also, we pause to give thanks for what we have and the friends we have made. I know Santa has much to be thankful for this past year! I hope and pray you do also.

Today at the mall we had a fairly normal day before Thanksgiving with a lot of busy times followed by down time. 

Shortly after shift change today at about 4pm, this cute little girl and her brother came to see Santa. At first I saw the girl and she was holding an orange ball in her hand. I said, "Can I see it?" and put my hand out. She said sure! Then she proceeded to put in my hand a giant, sopping wet gumball that would not fit in her mouth. My response was, "Ugh!" and I gave it back to her. Everyone was laughing while I used A LOT of hand sanitizer to get all of the "sticky" off!!

The answer to the question at the very beginning of this post is - Fox and Gray Squirrel. Did you guess correctly? They are animated and a part of Santa's set.

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!
Don't eat too much turkey!

   Santa

Oop's I missed a day.

Hello my fellow followers,

I know I said I would blog more often, but I have an excellent excuse for being slow out of the starting gate.  Santa got injured by a excited little girl. 

I was holding her and she seemed to be doing just fine, then all of a sudden she reared her head back, turned to face my right ear and bellowed the loudest high pitch squeal you could imagine right into my pour Santa ear. Needless to say, the pain I experienced was something else and when I winced, the crowd laughed. Well, after Mrs. Claus chatted with a Doctor Elf, it sounds like (get it ) I am experiencing the effects of my ear drum becoming swollen and my Eustachian tube closing shut or being clogged. Doctor Elf said I should continue as I was, but add a nasal spray to help things along. So on Wednesday morning I headed to the drug store. Hopefully, I will recover soon.

The photos below are of one of the waterfalls (which is also a wishing well). Then there are a few photos of yours truly in full Santa mode. One picture was taken on Sunday and the other (without the hat) was taken on Monday. The last photo shows part of the Santa Helpers day crew. Even their red aprons say "Santa approved."

As of now, this is how the gift requests are coming in. Of course, the big ticket items - ipods, ipads, computers - all seem to come from Santa. And my rule still holds. If the child cannot pronounce the gift item correctly, they do not get it. Sooooo, no "puters." I guess the biggest surprise is the resurgence of Pokemon cards and board games. Legos are coming on strong, and so is Barbie. Also, for the last two days, I've had conversations with kids about their Elf on a Shelf...as the Elves start reporting back to me within the next 3 days.

Good night for now. Santa needs to rest his ear.

Keep Santa in your thoughts and prayers.

Thanks!

  Santa

Better a Day Late, Than Never

Hi, everybody!

As some of you might know, Santa has moved from Grand Rapids, Michigan to the Tri-County Mall in Cincinnati, Ohio. It has taken me a few days to get adjusted, but here I am ready to officially start this Christmas season blogging. It is my intention to blog every day but sometimes it is impossible to due to Santa exhaustion.

So, let's do a little catch up.

I arrived in Ohio on November 14th and am staying with relatives instead of being in a hotel this year. A real welcomed change of pace. After meetings on the 13th, I felt we were all set and ready to go for the big grand opening on the 16th. (Of course, the 15th was a day of rest because of a national holiday - the "Big Guy's" birthday!)

The big grand opening was more like a tiny fizzle. There were very few kiddos there for my arrival, but I did arrive with the help of the Chick-Fil-A cow! Since I am at a new location, it was kind of nice to start off slow. You can see with the pictures below that I have a new Santa set (from a few different vantage points). It is located in the atrium of the mall. On each side of the Santa set is a grey partition which is part of a waterfall. The Santa set was built over a (disabled) fountain and pond. I'll try to have pictures of the waterfall tomorrow.

I have also added below a few pictures of some of my guests from the past two days. You are probably wondering why I am in a full Santa suit. The agreement with the mall is that on weekends I will be a "traditional" Santa and during the week I will be a "workshop" Santa.

As always, the kids are a joy to get to know and it's fun to hear what things they have placed on their list for Santa.

Santa would like to make a special shout out to Lucas F. and thank him for wishing me a happy birthday! I will talk to Silly and make sure he arrives on time. Silly has been busy getting ready for the trip and he is excited to get back to his warmer people home away from the North Pole.

Thanks again for following along with Santa's blog!

Tardy, but never late -
   Santa Joe