Santa Lives...thanks to the children.

It’s been just 5 days since I began the task of making Santa Claus real.
And while I loved the first experiences I have to say, it wasn’t what I expected it to be. It was much more fun but much more stressful than I could have imagined.
I began my first day suitably, suited and booted, for the first visitor and waited excitedly for the door to open and for my fun-filled elf to announce the name of the little child about to meet Santa.
”Maisie, eighteen months, old.” My elf announced as she held the door open.
18 months, I thought. That’s a nice little introduction.
Maisie entered, being carried by her father…took one look at the room, one look at me and began screaming. She started to pull at her father’s shoulders, shaking her head and crying her lungs out.
Welcome to the world of Santa.

I had been warned and the procedure was put in place. Flash the outside light and call for the elf. She arrived, quickly, probably aware of the terrible happening inside Santa’s living room. She smiled at the little girl, calmed her a little, took a photo and offered to take them both to the Toy Workshop. Visitor #1 had been a complete washout as far as Happy Santa was concerned.

Fortunately, the next fifteen or so visitors went much more smoothly. The time slots were between 4 and 7 minutes depending on how many were in the families. The elves worked tirelessly to keep the queues low and make sure the pictures of the children with Santa came out well.

The Sunday was much more smooth and much busier but, by now, I had a routine and a set of presentations according to the age and sex of the child coming in.

Two weekends to go and then the push into Christmas Eve. The overall impression I’ve come away with is that Santa is alive and well. He lives in the hearts and minds of the children and the willingness of parents to join in the reality.