I happen to have a Santa union suit, and though I don't have a long, full, curly white beard, nor do I have white hair (yet!), and my "bowl full of jelly" of a stomach is a work in progress, I’ve gotten by okay for the several occasions when I acted for the Big Guy.
I wore it once to a chilly November nationally televised prime time Maryland Terrapins football game hoping to get an appearance on a popular sports highlight show. It snowed that morning, and by game time, it was icy in the steep upper deck where my seats were located. I had a very real fear of slipping and falling from the upper deck onto the fans below. I’d make an appearance on every sports highlight show, but for all the wrong reasons. Fortunately, Ol’ St. Nick survived the game, but the Terps lost the game, and there was no highlight show appearance. The only positive on the evening was that the suit, with extra pillow padding and fake facial fur, kept me from freezing.
My father, who was regularly asked to appear as Santa at family Christmas parties, had the job before me. He had the suit and the deep “Ho, ho, ho!” down pat, and it really was rather magical to watch him in action. As I got older, I inherited the role, and we eventually purchased a deluxe model suit with “real hair” beard and wig, which only further added to the magic.
When word got out to friends that I had a Santa suit, I was invited to wear it at Christmas parties, and then I started receiving more and more requests for appearances. Actually, it was kind of fun! I loved wearing the full suit while driving down the interstate on my way to an appearance, watching kids (and adults) light up and point when they saw Santa drive past them in a bright red Jeep.
When word got out to friends that I had a Santa suit, I was invited to wear it at Christmas parties, and then I started receiving more and more requests for appearances. Actually, it was kind of fun! I loved wearing the full suit while driving down the interstate on my way to an appearance, watching kids (and adults) light up and point when they saw Santa drive past them in a bright red Jeep.
One of my regular gigs was helping my aunt's dance class for little kids. She had about 20 students, and they had a big Christmas party every year at a local elementary school. Santa would pay them a visit, get their gift requests, pose for pictures, and give them a candy cane. It was fun, but the kids could be brats at times. Since the beard isn't real, and the kids who aren't starry-eyed know it isn’t real, some of them enjoy yanking on the beard, and that destroys some of the magic from the moment. There's not much I can do when that happens, and my only complaint is that parents don't police their kids very well. They just laugh. So, their kids laugh, too. And poor Santa loses all respect.
My worst experience occurred at one of these parties. I showed up on time and was directed to one of the small classrooms to get ready and await my cue to make an entrance. I put everything on, and the last thing I did was put on the beard and wig. The beard has an elastic strap that fits over the top of my head to hold it in place, then the wig goes on over the strap, keeping it straight. The classroom I was in had a small bathroom, and I used the mirror to make sure I looked okay. While I worked on the beard, I placed the wig under my arm. However, as I got the beard in place, the wig fell from beneath my arm, and I heard a small splash. I looked down and saw the wig had landed in the toilet. Then I noticed that the water in the toilet had a yellowish tint…!
As panic came over me, I fished out the wig, wringed it out, and tried to clean it off and dry it as best I could. The show must go on! I got the wig in place, put on the hat and gloves, got my bag of candy canes, and quickly headed out to the party. And then I started feeling the drip, drip, drip of cold water on the back of my neck, sliding slowly down my back. All I could do was grit my teeth and keep ho-ho-ho-ing through it. The kids had no idea what I was going through, thank goodness. When I finished the job, I headed out as fast as I could, changed my clothes, and quickly drove home. Ol’ Saint Nick needed a hot shower!
Nowadays, I prefer to leave the Santa Claus-ing to the real thing. Santa does a much better job than anyone else, and I'd prefer to leave it to the professional. Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, nor unflushed toilets, stays Ol’ Santa from the swift completion of his appointed rounds! The show must go on, ready or not. However, there’s only one real St. Nick, delivering gifts with a touch of magic and a twinkle in his eyes...and a dry head of hair.
May you and your loved ones have a meaningful Christmas and Holiday Season!
My worst experience occurred at one of these parties. I showed up on time and was directed to one of the small classrooms to get ready and await my cue to make an entrance. I put everything on, and the last thing I did was put on the beard and wig. The beard has an elastic strap that fits over the top of my head to hold it in place, then the wig goes on over the strap, keeping it straight. The classroom I was in had a small bathroom, and I used the mirror to make sure I looked okay. While I worked on the beard, I placed the wig under my arm. However, as I got the beard in place, the wig fell from beneath my arm, and I heard a small splash. I looked down and saw the wig had landed in the toilet. Then I noticed that the water in the toilet had a yellowish tint…!
As panic came over me, I fished out the wig, wringed it out, and tried to clean it off and dry it as best I could. The show must go on! I got the wig in place, put on the hat and gloves, got my bag of candy canes, and quickly headed out to the party. And then I started feeling the drip, drip, drip of cold water on the back of my neck, sliding slowly down my back. All I could do was grit my teeth and keep ho-ho-ho-ing through it. The kids had no idea what I was going through, thank goodness. When I finished the job, I headed out as fast as I could, changed my clothes, and quickly drove home. Ol’ Saint Nick needed a hot shower!
Nowadays, I prefer to leave the Santa Claus-ing to the real thing. Santa does a much better job than anyone else, and I'd prefer to leave it to the professional. Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, nor unflushed toilets, stays Ol’ Santa from the swift completion of his appointed rounds! The show must go on, ready or not. However, there’s only one real St. Nick, delivering gifts with a touch of magic and a twinkle in his eyes...and a dry head of hair.
May you and your loved ones have a meaningful Christmas and Holiday Season!
