A Magical of Christmas; a Season of Hope

Each holiday season dating back to 1998 my husband and I have had the privilege of portraying Santa and Mrs. Claus at several special locations. He's the one with the white, fluffy beard, by the way (I keep my whiskers plucked). It can be quite exhausting, requires patience (at times more with the adults than their children), but is hugely rewarding.

One particular event is scheduled for the three days following Thanksgiving. This year marked the fourth year we have been booked at a local nursery. The place is all decked out with fabulous decorations, ornaments, and plants for sale. Visitors are treated with free coffee, apple cider, and kettle corn. There is a large model train display for everyone to enjoy, with themed villages in different sections and levels. A fellow volunteer loans his track, trains, and time (along with small pieces of candy for the children). The employees spend several hours a day over the course of three weeks setting up the scenery, including all the electrical connections, to transform it into winter wonderland splendor. It's always a big hit with the children.

While everyone else is either still recovering from a huge Thanksgiving feast or out shopping for the best Black Friday deals for Christmas gifts, Santa is poised in an antique sleigh surrounded by a forest of artificial trees all sparkling with tiny lights. He has his sack filled with candy canes for every guest. Mrs. Claus stands alongside the sleigh, ready to help visitors scramble up the steps and steady them when they climb back down.

The beauty of this particular event is that there is no charge for photographs. People use their own cameras or phones to capture photographic memories. We are busy most of the time, but there is rarely anyone waiting in line. A number of our visitors have special needs, and we have always been able to adjust to whatever any given situation requires. Santa has climbed down so we can kneel next to a wheelchair, given an autistic child the quietness and calm they need, and welcomed those with mental limitations with patience and understanding. We held a baby that was just two weeks old this year and had a woman who proclaimed she was 91 and had never had her picture taken with Santa before. Some visitors bring in their dogs for a picture and Mrs. Claus makes sure Santa has a supply of dog biscuits for our furry friends.

We sometimes need to get creative with children who are reluctant to make that trip to see Santa, despite the desperate urgings of their parents or grandparents. Some parents are perfectly content getting a picture of their child crying on Santa's lap and almost consider it a 'rite of passage' to include that in their album. Others desire that sweet, contented smile and we try to accomplish that for them. I may suggest that a parent get in the sleigh next to Santa and hold the child while I take the picture, or if one of the employees is free they will take the picture so I can be in the photo, too. When that doesn't work, we've had families pose in front of the sleigh so the child isn't even aware of us in the background. Sometimes it just takes giving the child a little more time to warm up to the idea; I advise parents to spend more time watching the train and looking at ornaments, allowing the child time to watch us (and other children) from a distance until they feel ready. It was an encounter with such a child who ended up providing Mrs. Claus with a truly magical experience.

She was a darling, but an extremely shy little girl who, I later learned was five years old. The girl’s father had obviously brought her to see Santa and get her picture taken, but she was too overwhelmed. Her father wisely walked her over to the train layout to distract her for a while. I was able to observe them from a distance, frequently making eye-contact with her father.

Eventually, the little girl tired of the trains, so her father began walking her around to look at all the decorations and ornaments. Noticing whenever they passed by I could see her peering around displays and eyeing Santa. When I would smile and offer a friendly little wave, she would predictably duck behind her father's leg. Her father once got near enough to whisper, "We're getting closer all the time!" I encouraged him to take all the time he needed; we'd be there whenever she felt willing.

It must have taken the better part of an hour before she felt brave enough to come over, but she was still feeling unsure about the situation. When her father introduced me to Elyse, I knelt down (pardon my slip-up … Mrs. Claus knelt down) and asked the curly-headed girl if she knew the Jingle Bells song. She didn’t think so, so I softly began singing, "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way…." I saw Elyse was mouthing the words along with me, and I thought I could almost detect a murmur of a tiny voice.

"Oh what FUN," I continued, putting lots of emphasis on the 'fun' part, "it is to ride in a one-horse, open sleigh!" and with that, I pointed to Santa's sleigh. Maybe it's not exactly Child Psychology 101, but I remember being the curly-headed little girl who was terrified of Santa and I was on a mission. Bottom line – it worked. Elyse was ready, but even after climbing up into the sleigh she was too shy to speak. Santa assured her that she could always write a letter and have Dad mail it to the North Pole. Her father appeared appreciative of the suggestion and took his pictures.

After Elyse had sat next to Santa for a few minutes, she got up and stood quietly in the front part of the sleigh and didn't seem in any hurry to leave. I was still standing nearby, alert to when she might decide she had enough and climb out. Her father attempted to help Elyse relax and talk to us by sharing that she knew a magic trick.

"You know how to do a trick?" I prompted. She nodded but didn't say a word. Her father said she knew how to make a rock disappear. When I asked her, in my most astounded voice, if that was so, she nodded and held out her hand to show me a little piece of gravel she had been carrying around.

"Well, show her!" her father encouraged. I truly had my doubts that this timid little creature was going to do anything more than silently stand in Santa’s sleigh … but what followed next was a total transformation!

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A Magical of Christmas; a Season of Hope

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