Where have I been.

Since my last posting I have decided that east Tennessee is the place to be. Dana and I moved here in October 2008 and we have finally found a home and are settling in. I have worked on several Santa gatherings, a convention and I am currently working with some of my friends on The Jim Yellig Santa Claus Workshop. Come by and check this out. I will be working on the Blog for this event that looks like it could be the biggest yet.

Look for futuure updates as I will be doing a better job of keeeping up with my blogs.

EXCITEMENT

Twenty two days until we leave on our trip to the North Pole. We are planning a short cut though. Our trip we take us to Denver, across Kansas, Missouri and then drop down into southern Indiana and make a stop in Santa Claus, Indiana for a day or so. From there we will head south east to Gatlinburg Tennessee where we will be working on some details for Celebrate Santa. After 5 days there we will head to Pennsylvania for a couple days with a trip to Cherry Hill, New Jersey sqeezed into that lay over.

The next leg will get us to Santa's Workshop, where we will get to stay until Labor Day. With the schedule we will have there I should be able to make daily post on the adventures of Santa in the summer.

We will try to make post as we travel along on our trip as well. We are looking forward to a stop in Denver where we get to visit with some of my brother Santa's, then on Sunday we will attend a BBQ with some very special relatives.

GOING TO THE NORTH POLE

A few weeks ago I found out that Santa's Workshop at The North Pole in New York was looking for Santa to spend the summer at their amusement park. So I sent off an e-mail and some photos and after a few telephone calls was told that they wanted me. So I will be there this summer from June 28 through September 6. Good news is that Mrs. C. and Cody the wonder dog get to come with me.

Part of my duties will be to get in the sleigh and go through the park being pulled by my reindeer. No they will not be flying during this time of year. I will also be making a new proclamation every day.

We will have an interesting trip as we are leaving here on June 6th going to Denver for a couple days then over to Santa Claus, Indiana for about a day. From there we will be going to Gatlinburg to work on some of the details for Celebrate Santa 2009. I have been writting a seperate blog for Celebrate Santa, after several days in Gatlinburg we will head North to the Pole.

This summer should turn into an amazing adventure and we will be making regular post for this adventure as I will have enough time for it.

Celebrate Santa

Well this first big event of 2008 was being asked to be Executive Chairman of Celebrate Santa 2009. Santa Joe Moore and his lovely wife Mary (get that Joseph and Mary) are the main people behing this event, that will be held on March 16,17,18, 2009 in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

It promises to be a great event for Santa's of all types, real bearded and traditional bearded, as well as Mrs. Claus' and helpers. We are anticipating about 700 red suited gentlemen. It should be an absolute ball for anyone that is in the Gatlingburg area during that time period. Speaking of Balls we are going to have the Red and Green Gala Ball on the 17th after the parade.

Anyone who would like more information on this can check out the other blog that I am trying to keep up to date for Celebrate Santa 2009.

There is some more exciting news to come in my next post on where I will be at this summer. ( a hint would be N.P. N.Y.) Look for my next posting to find out more about my summer tour plans.

2007 COMPLETE WRAP UP

It has been so long since I have updated this blog so I thought I would give a bit of a wrap up for what 2007 was like. Granted it can be boring for some, however it really shows why I neglected this blog. I will be working up what has happened so far this year as it has been very exciting.

January 9th First Bleaching for the year by Patty at Razmatazz in Great Falls, Montana

January 11th Flew to the Bob Hope Airport Stayed with Santa Al Hodek we attended the 13th annual AORBS Founders Luncheon on January 14th luncheon was held aboard the Queen Mary returned home on the 16th. 2550 mi. flying 5 days from home

May 3rd drove to Denver attended IUSC on the 5th at Colorado School of Mines received Bachelors of Santaology. From Santa Tim Connaghan’s IUSC.
May 6th We attended Rocky Mtn Santa Round up at The El Rancho in Evergreen, Colorado left for home on the 6th 1600 mi, driving 4 days from home

May 7th Another Bleach Job by Patty at Razmatazz in Great Falls, Montana

May13th left for Santa Claus, Indiana spent one night in Denver, then 2 nights in Overland Park, Kansas forAORBS site inspection.

Arrived Santa Claus on the 17th 1803 mi. driving

Started working on the 18th until the 20th

May 21st drove to Franklin, Tennessee. to meet with Scribe books, publishers Ang & Dan DePriest, as well as Brian Morger artist for book Miracle at Cabbagehead Pass returned May 25th 376 mi. driving

Santa at Santa’s Candy Castle in Santa Claus, In. from May 18th until August 12th
77 work days 3100 mi. driving

July 17th Bleach hair at by in Santa Claus, Indiana

August 13th Holiday World with Santas Ken Fulkerson, Jim George, Don Love, and Don Brunk as well as Santa Gary Issacson there Santa. Rode the #1 and # 7 wooden Roller Coasters in the World The Voyager and the Legend.

Aug 14th Drove to Pigeon Forge Tennessee met with Joe and Mary Moore about future Santa work in this area, Santa Tim Connaghan flew in as well. 352 miles driving

Aug 17th Drove to Atlanta Georgia for IUSC school received Masters of Santaology from Santa Tim Connaghan 2 day course.

May 20th back to Pigeon Forge Tennessee after dropping Santa Tim Connaghan at Knoxville airport, to continue discussion of future Santa work with Joe & Mary Moore 405 miles driving

Aug 22nd to Nashville to go over more information on progress of Miracle at Cabbagehead Pass with Scribe book Publishers. 180 miles driving

Aug 25th drove to North Little Rock, Arkansas on Way to Branson 188 miles driving
Aug 26th Completed drive to Branson to meet with Dave Cook author of Miracle
At Cabbage Head pass and his wife Becky. While I was there also worked out a job with the Radisson Branson to come back with Mrs. Claus to work in their vendor booth for the Grand Opening of the new Convention center in Branson.

Aug. 28th Drove to Denver, Colorado on way home visited with my sister 812 miles driving

Aug 31st Drove to Belt home finally 752 miles driving and 109 days away from home .

September 5th Another bleach job by Patty at Razmatazz.

Sept. 6th Flew to Branson via Salt Lake City to Cincinnati to Springfield, Missouri. 2290 miles of flying then had to rent a car and drive to Branson, Missouri

Sept 7thand 8th worked for Raddison Sept 9th we flew back home got bumped from a flight and had to spend night in Salt Lake City at Raddison Hotel 1895 miles flying

September 10th finished trip to Great Falls, Montana 405 miles flying 5 days away from home.

September 19th flew to St. Louis, Missouri for Round Bobbin Expo trade show worked for Santa America Sept. 20th 21st 22nd and 23rd trying to get home sewers to make Hugs from Santa, 1464 miles of flying.

September 24th had to wait until the 25th to fly home.

September 25th Flew back home to Great Falls 1464 miles flying 5 days away from home.

November 8th last bleaching of the year by Patty at Razmatazz in Great Falls, Montana.

November 13th Flew to Tampa St. Pete airport to work at Countryside Mall in Clearwater, Florida for Cherry Hill Photo 1859 miles flying Work at Mall through December 24th drove 1376 miles in rental car.

December 25th flew back home through Denver, Colorado flight was delayed almost five hours due to snow storm back home 1859 miles of flying 43 days away from home.

Now how the numbers pan out.

Miles of flying 13,776
Miles of driving 13,104

Total days away from home 171
Total days at home 194

Total Miles as Santa 26,880

Not all driving miles show up in this posting but they were sure there.
The trips into the hospital in Great Falls for visits on the pediatric floor are not shown as those visits were private.

To sum it up for this Santa it was a busy year, but by far the most personally rewarding.
It really is about the heart!

FAKE NAME

My Mrs. is a cook for a school for the deaf and blind and they have a cottage program for students that live out oftown or in other states. The students know that she is married to Santa. One day a parent who had been visiting came to the dining room with her child and the little girl wanted to introduce her mom to my Mrs. She said Mom this is Mrs. Claus. But her fake name is Mack

2007 STARTS OFF GREAT

WOW I have always thought seven 7 was my lucky number.

So far I went to California January 18th for our AORBS 14th annual luncheon. I stayed with my Santa Friend Al in Santa Clarita, California.

I have applied to be The Santa for Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana. It is my hope to hear about that this next week and personally I feel I am the Santa they want for their theme park.

Now I have posted twice in one day, even though the previous post has been in draft form for almost two weeks. So far and this is only mid February I have logged 2600 out of town travel miles. This year the mileage will probably go up.

A Wrap up of a Great Year

What Santa did in 2006 that can be remembered
Co Chair Workshops for Discover Santa Convention in Branson, Mo.
Attended pre convention set up
Attended the first AORBS convention
Worked the Montana State FAir 9 days
Interviewed by Great Falls Tribune newspaper article (printed)
Interviewed by Time Magazine Magazine article (printed)
Televisiom Story on KRTV
Television Story on KFBB
2 hour raido interview with call in from children
Santa at Belt School
Santa at MSDB
Santa at East Middle School
Television Commercial For the Udder Company
Party For Varner's
Santa at Mountain View
Party At Bloomgren Rivera Accounting
Radio Commercials for Benefit
Numerous visitis with Families and Children At Benefis Hospital
Trained for Hospice work with Peace Hospice
Photo Shoot for illustrator Brian Morger for book Miracle on Cabbagehead Pass
Trained For Childrens Bereavement with Peace Hospice
Visited with Hospice patients
Attended Childrens bereavement Christmas Party
Eight Home visits for a young lady and her family
Visit With Steve disabled - Dad in Iraq
Childrens Museum Party
Visit with special disabled friend Adam
Family Christmas Party on bootlegger
Amy & Bruces Christmas Party
Worked Theater for opening weekend of Santa Claus III the escape claus
Took Sign Language Class to be able to speak to Deaf People
Attended Goodwill Easter Seal Christmas Party (sang with Brian Morger)
Delivered Anonymous gifts to two families for Brian
Santa at Childrens Receiving Home
Santa at Benefis Volunteer Christmas Party

Out of town travel `13,800 miles

THIS JUST KEEPS GETTING HARDER TO FIND TIME

I have been busy doing what seems like nothing. I am only making 4 or 5 calls a day. I am doing it throught I was able to do a commercial for a Local Milk Company 2 weeks ago. It was interesting.

Yesterday was a long day, started at 8:00 am giving a talk to a hospice about Santa visiting their clients. If anyone is intersted it is a wonderful organization I invite all to check it out. Then if the Christmas Spirit of giving grabs you, they have a place where you can make a donation right online.

Before I was through giving my talk people in the room were writing down names of people they wanted me to visit in the program. This morning I received an e-mail with request for me to go visit 5 different people.

Back to yesterday. Then I went to the Hospice House and and visited with some people there. Last Thursday there I took a picture with a lady who was 92 years young, and as it turned out it was the very first picture she had ever taken with Santa.

After Hospice I went to the Hospital. Visited with a little guy 4 years old who had been runover by a tractor, he is a real miracle. When I walked into his ICU room he had a smile that could light up the skys.
It was a great visit. Then across the way I went to visit with a 15 year old who was in an automobile accident and had a major brain injury, it looks like he will turn out to be in good shape, before it is all over.

Out and down the hall I went as I passed by the ICU waiting room there were 3 young ones waiting in there with there Mom Grandma and a couple Great Aunts. The little ones Great Grandma was in ICU and the prognosis was grim as I started talking to them. The oldest boy about 7 told me that all he wanted for Christmas was for his Great Gram to get well, It was my duty to tell him that there was someone bigger than Santa who would have to take care of that, and that I would be praying. I was able to visit with the others and share with all of them some Love, Hope and Joy.

Around the corner and down the hall I went to the PEDS unit. They had eight patients for me to visit with. It gives me so much Joy to see the looks on the Childrens faces when Santa walks in the room.

Enough of the Hospital scene, so I headed downtown for some coffee at my favorite Coffee shop COOL BEANS, I finally found a parking spot and had to walk about a block to Coffee. On the way there a young lady came running out of a store and said Santa I Love You. All I could say was ditto. Then a little guy came walking up the street with his mom and I spoke to him and handed him one of my special cards.

Then I decided that the store the young lady came out of was on a gift certificate that I had been given, so I went back in there to shop for a gift for Mrs Claus. Well the little guy and his mom followed me in. I finished my shopping and continued on to Coffee. In just a couple minutes the little guy came in there with mom he ordered up a hot Cocoa. I asked the lady to put a little extra whip cream on for him. Mom and the little guy drank their goodies and left.

I sat there at Cool Beans for another 45 minutes enjoying several cups of their special blend. Then it was time for me to head off to a Christmas Party for some preschoolers. It had to be the nicest warmest HOME I mean a real home where this party was held. Another one of those warm fuzzy things going on. Before I left I was asked if I could go to another Party on Sunday. It was a great 2 hours.

Then I came home to make three calls to children from Santa. I made the first two then to the third and it was then that I had realized I had them in the wrong time zone. I called and the girls were already in bed. So we made arrangements for me to call them this evening.

I went to bed and tossed all night because of that call. Santa is not supposed to make those kind of mistakes.

Well I was woke up this morning by Mrs Claus saying that someone was calling. It seems that little guys mom is a local DJ for a morning drive show and her and her partner were looking for the Santa that was downtown so one of my friends was calling to let me know. I called and spoke to them it seems they are wanting me to come down next week and talk to some children on the phone live from the station at 6:30 in the morning. So Santa will be up early for that one.

I was able to get my calls in this evening and Mrs. Claus was able to help me make the call to the girls I missed last night extra special as she took her turn at talking to them.

Speaking of Mrs Claus she was quoted in Time Magazine last week in an article about Santas' it was only in the subscribers issue that is sent to women, and it can be found online. Her quote which was meant to describe all Santas' was "Santa is just a Chick Magnet"

Well that has to be the end of this post for now. I hop[e to have some more goodies soon. I will be answering 34 letters from first and second graders and that post should be interesting.

BREAKFAST WITH SANTA

Last Saturday we had our breakfast with Santa We had a lot of help with our breakfast.
Here a photo of a couple
elves that were helping
at the breakfast. They did
a great job. There cousin
was in a serious car accident
and I visited her in the hospital
twice a week and then when
she went I get to see her once
a week.

The next day on Sunday we
had a reception at The Great
Falls Childrens Museum. It was
held for special needs children,
not a great turn out but we had
a lot of fun as everything is
interactive.

It is almost time to start the countdown to Christmas.
I will start counting number of visits theis year we
will now be at 163. The elves are Shea and Shelby.

I almost forgot there is a new blog up for the book
that I posed for the illustrator. Miracle At Cabbagehead
Pass. They are going to tell the story behind the process
of having this book published and how everyone got
together, so please check them out and add to your
favorites.
http://www.miracleatcabbageheadpass.blogspot.com/

Nathans Mom REST OF JULY, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER UP TO OCTOBER 24th

I really did not want to do an update like this but here is a bunch of things that hve happened or are going to happen. Well Mrs. Claus and I walked around the State fair for 10 days and greeted a lot of people. Everyone asked what I was doing and I just let them know I was checking the naughty and nice list. Of course almost everyone was on the nice list.

At the fair I met Uncle Curly the clown, a very nice kinda guy. His cousin Billy does sand sculpture and he took ten days to do a great one at the fair.

Also at the fair Santa found a new Elf Amy. She will be helping Santa with a lot of things the first of which she decided that she should be the seamstress to the Claus's She has already made Mrs. Claus a new outfit and four new Shirts for Santa.

Then we had the great photo shoot for the book Miracle on Cabbagehead Pass. The publishers are just great people Ang and Dan DePriest with Scribe books. The author Dave Cook I have only spoke to once and a couple e-mails. over a period of three days we took about 650 photos.

We ate dinner together twice and they introduced Santa to a new coffee shop. Cool Beans on Central Ave. downtown Great Falls. The coffee is great the people are even better and I don't think I have ever sat in more comfortable chairs. I am excited to see how the illustrator Brian Morger does with all the photos. The book should be out in time for Christmas 2007, I have never read such a wonderful Christmas story before.

I was able to complete Hospice training with Peace Hospice for the things I do with Santa-America.org check out their website when you get a chance. www.santa-america,org I have been visiting the hospital at least twice a week.

My Elf Amy started a promotion for a breakfast with Santa that will benefit Santa-America she is a real go getter and a major supporter of what I do with the organization. The breakfast will be held November 18th from 8a.m. until noon at the VFW in Great Falls. Then the next afternoon we will be having a special meet and greet with Santa at the Childrens Museum for special needs children.

A couple weeks ago my friend Bob Litak launched our Just be Claus website. www.justbeclaus.net I have an e-mail address there santa.justbeclaus.net yes that is right no @ in that one. If you get a chance you can check that one out as well. I have been asked by several people if I would be going back to San Diego (National City's Plaza Bonita Mall) again this year. Unfortunately I will not be going there. I am going to stay here and do the charitable Santa things that I enjoy so much. I will be available for some private parties for a nominal fee. It is my hope that another website will be launched within the next week or two. www.igotacallfromsanta.com it is not up as of yet. But when it does come up I will be making telephone calls from the North Pole as it will show up on your caller ID. It is my hope that I can make a few extra dollars for myself as well as being able to put some dollars into some charitable organizations.

I will be completing Childrens bereavement training this week.

I checked with the only theatre here last week to see about being there for the opening of Santa Claus 3 the escape clause. They will get back to me this week I hope as the Movie opens up on November 3rd.

The other BIG news is that I have been appointed the Northwest regional Director of AORBS, Almagated Order of Real Bearded Santa's.

Special Notes I was very pleased that the mommy and me classes that I have seen asked me to make special arrangements with them this year, and I am sorry that I will not be there for them. I am really sorry that I will not be able to see Nathan this year either. If Nathans mom will send me an e-mail I would like to correspond with her.

That will be all for Now. I will try to keep caught up with this so that everyone will know what Santa is doing.

JULY 19, 2006 Santa at the fair

One of the things that I have been doing since about Feburary is stopping in at the Hospital from time to time visiting patients. When they held the state Special Olympics here I was there with the hospital crew greeting the Olympians, I made a lot of friends there.

Well the State Fair will be coming up and we don't have the money to attend so Santa gets a brilliant idea and we drive into the fair office with a proposal. I go in and see Stan the Man and ask him how he would like to have Santa wandering around the fairgrounds for 10 days jsut greeting people and letting them take photos. He tells me their budget is already shot. So I think wow they might pay for something like this! I then respond with I don't want to get paid this year, I jsut want passes to get in every day with Mrs. Claus. He said he could handle that and gets us hooked up.

So now this roller coaster is just starting up the really big hill.

JULY 16, 2006 MODEL WANTED

We returned from Branson on the 15th and the whirlwind just kept going. Mrs. C listened to the messages on the machine while I unloaded the car. Then we reitred for the night and she said Oh there was a message from some illustrator that had been inBraanson while we were there and he wanted to talk to me. Oh o.k.

Before we left for Branson the paper here at the North Pole had interviewed us and came by to take some photos. Well it was published while we were out of town as follows.

Belt Santa heading to Claus convention in MissouriBy STACY HASLEM Tribune Staff Writer
When children spot Santa Claus at the grocery store — out of suit in the middle of summer — they straighten up real quick.
"First they look at me like they're not real sure about this, like is that him or isn't it," said Tim Mack, a bleach-bearded Belt man who plays the part year-round. "Then I'll go up and talk to them and say, 'You know who I am, don't you?'"
With an everyday wardrobe of Christmas-flavored shirts, red Dickies pants and a belt buckle bearing the initials S.C., Mack said he magically morphed into the jolly old elf in 1998, when he first slipped into the big red suit.
Since then, he's authenticated his look and spends his days cheering up those who need a lift.
"There couldn't be a better job in the world," the 53-year-old said. "It is by far the most rewarding thing I have ever done in my life."
In addition to sipping cocoa and nibbling cookies, the Santas will attend various workshops to better themselves.
"How to deal with special needs children, how to take care of your hair and beard, storybook telling, how to promote yourself, Santa and the media, Santa's wardrobe ... we'll be covering different categories like that," Mack said.
The convention offers workshops for Mrs. Claus, too.
Dana Mack jumped on the sleigh about a year after her hubby did.
"I got a red and white flannel night gown, put an apron over it and white fur on the bottom of it," said Mack, a cook at the Montana School for the Deaf and the Blind.
However, Mack plays Mrs. Claus only during the Christmas season, and she has not gone to the hair-bleaching extremes of her naturally salt-and-peppered husband.
"I'm 45 and people put me in my 30s," the brunette said. "I was just in yesterday for a perm."
The Mrs. Claus workshops cover duties like decorating cookies and taking care of Santa. Mrs. Mack already has the latter covered, however.
"I give him lots of love and try to keep him happy, which isn't hard," she said.
But most days cookies aren't on the menu at the Mack house.
"In fact, Tim asked before we got married if I'd make cookies, and I said, 'No,'" she giggled.
Even without fresh-baked cookies, Tim Mack experiences a warm feeling several times a week through his volunteer work at Benefis Hospital.
"Basically Tim visits two to three times a week," said Kathy Yarger, manager of volunteer services at Benefis. "He just knocks on the door and pops in for a visit."
"Today there was a pediatric patient, a 90-year-old lady and 74-year-old who needed a pick-me-up," Yarger said in an interview last Thursday. "And he can pick anybody up.
"He doesn't have any hesitations or fears."
Mack also volunteered at the Montana Special Olympics Summer Games in Great Falls in May.
"That was just the most wonderful thing — those kids are special," he said. "They love Santa. They have no problems identifying me."
"I worked the last two years at a mall in San Diego," Mack said. "Real-bearded Santas make good money in bigger malls."
People also hire him for business and private parties.
"Those are the paid things I do that help me to be able to do the volunteer stuff," he said.
Being Santa Claus is dear to Mack's heart.
"When I first put the suit on, something changed inside of me — something magical happened, a metamorphosis took place," he said. "Prior to that time, I was very cold and wanted nothing to do with Christmas."
But he's found there's nothing better than having a 4- or 5-year-old kid jump up on his lap like he's the best thing ever.
Though, some folks give him the odd eye when he's making his rounds.
"I just tell them I haven't lost my mind, I just found my heart," he said.
Reach Tribune Staff Writer Stacy Haslem at 791-1490, 800-438-6600 or at shaslem@greatfal.gannett.com.

Originally published July 6, 2006

Next morning I listen to the machine and the message was from a rather well known artist here at the North Pole. So I returned his call and he told me he hasa firm deal with a publisher to illustrate a Christmas book and he would like me to model for it as Santa. We talked and made arrangements to meet for lunch later in the week.

The day of the lunch I took Mrs. Claus in with me. When the artist lets just call him Brian for now arrives and starts telling us about the story. It has an unusual twist Seems Santa is having a poor Christmas Eve and is sick, combine that with several disasters and then have an angel show up, and bring back the real meaning of Christmas and WOW this is so cool. As he is telling us the story he looks at Mrs. Claus and says he wants to use her as the model for for Mrs. Claus, he doesn't want the typical Mrs. Claus and says she will be perfect. Lunch over he will make some calls and get back to me.

So hold on for the roller coaster ride, because we have just hit the tip of the ice berg.

BRANSON

July 16
Wow what a trip that was we took three days to drive down there Mrs. C and I. We had 4 full days of workshops then off to a variety of Shows every night. I had 299 of my real bearded ambassadors there as well as approximately 250 Mrs. C's and helpers. It was so much fun fellowshipping with all of those Jolly Ol fat men in red suits, of course most of us maintained a more casual summer attire.

Except for the morning of the parade, we were up at 5:oo a.m. leaving for the parade area by six. I guess we created a lot of noise all those big guys with bells ringing through the Raddison hotel so early in the morning. Through out the trip we took over 400 photos and it would just be too difficult to figure out which ones to put up.

We took our time coming home and was able to visit relatives and friends all the way back.

GETTING READY TO LEAVE FOR BRANSON, MO.

This is my new friend Krystoffer he is currently in the hospital recovering from having a Brain Tumor removed. Yesterday was his fourth birthday so Santa showed up with an adopt a bear as a birthday gift. This is what just a small portion of what Santa-America is about. It only took about an hour and a half to get him to decide that it was alright to open his eyes and look at Santa and then smile for a photo. Dad consented to taking this photo for Santa. As Santa goes nowhere without his camera.

We have had a big committee of Santa Ambassadors prepairing for athe First ever Almagamated Order Of Real Bearded Santas convention. They have put together 26 workshops so that these Ambassadors can become better at what they do. Such as care and feeding of Santa's Hair and Beard, Dealing with special needs Children, Story Telling, History of Santa Claus, Santa Ethics, Santa and the media, Santa's basic and advanced Wardrobe, Working with a mall photo company these are just a few of the workshops that have been set up.

Norad that would be the North American Air Defense Command will be tracking my trip to Branson on Thursday just like they track my route on Christmas Eve. With all of my ambassadors there. The tricky part will be trying to find me in the crowd. The Children there will have fun trying to figure it out. I have found that the good ones have no problem picking me out of a crowd. There will be Ambassadors from all over the United States and maybe a few from other parts of the country.

I will do everything I can to make daily post on the events in Branson, We have been told that the network morning news programs will show up for our parade through Kringles Christmas Village on Friday morning at 7:00 A.M. Some parts of my entorage will be leaving on Saturday so there could be some updates as early as Sunday night.

There are a lot of new things coming up for Santa this year and that information should be coming out In August.

The biggest thing happening this next week will be a feature article that will be coming out in the Thursday July 6th issue of the Great Falls , Montana Tribune, Lifestyles section. It should be very interesting as they have talked to a lot of Santa's Associates. I am hoping that they will put an emphasis on the Santa-America Association as that is really where Santa's Heart is at.

Look for updates more often during the upcoming months. Santa is in need of a new sleigh( mini van or something like it) So I have been putting the word out in hopes that we can get one donated for the Santa America trips that I will be making.

Steering committee to Branson

Well we have been working on gettting presenters for our first ever AORBS convention in Branson, Mo. Last week I needed to get a touchup on my hair so that waste one afternoon. I will be leaving home on Thursday early morning driving to Denver and where I will meet my co-chair then he will drive to Goodland, Ks. The next morning we will be getting up and finishing our trip to Branson. We will be in meetings all weekend to make sure we are prepared for the July convention. We should have 350 to 500 real bearded Santa's there. It should be getting some national media exposure.

We Have Been Busy

It looks like my co-chair and I for the AORBS (amalgamated order of real bearded Santa's) have finally been able to lock down presenters for 24 different workshops for our very first convention. This will be held in Branson, Missouri July 7th through the 9th. It has been interesting talking to all the different Santa's and trying to find out what they are able to present to the others so that we can all work at becoming better Santa's.

Here is a web address for those that might be interested in what will be happening http://www.discoversanta.com/index.htm It will be a lot of fun to get together with what we are anticipating to be 300 to 500 other white bearded gentlemen. I have discovered something rather interesting in working on this committee. A Santa can talk to a child and usually discuss all they need to talk about and get photos taken in 2 to 5 minutes. But when one Santa gets on the phone with another one it usually takes 45 to 90 minutes. That has some explanation as to what I have been doing.

The Santa-America http://www.santa-america.org/ training program that was going to take place in June at Daphne, Alabama has been rescheduled to take place in Branson. It will start 2 days prior to the AORBS convention and some of the workshops will be held to coincide with the convention. All that means is one less trip I will have to make this summer. If I had to make a choice in doing just one though it would be the Santa-America training.

So now the committee members will be getting together in Branson the first week in May to go through all of the different events verify schedules and make contingency plans. It still means I have to do a lot of driving this summer. Going on 2 different trips that will be over 5,000 miles.

I was considering just renting a car for both trips but It looks like for the second trip in July anyway Santa will have a new sleigh. I have been doing some bartering and have managed to come up with a 1986 Chevrolet Celebrity station wagon. It wil be getting a new transmission and then some of the guys in the shop figured that if it was going to be for Santa that it would have to have some custom work done on it. So they have come up with a lot of plans and we will just have to see what happens. I know the first thing they want to do is paint it red and have the out line of a sleigh on the side painted in gold. From there they have even more plans like redoing the interior, special lights and sound etched rear windows and some special graphics. They have told me that they can have it ready for my trip the first of July. Now all I have to do is be patient and wait for them to do the work. If their plan comes together it should be a rather wild ride. It is almost like getting that OVERHAULING thing done on television, this will just take longer. I will try to keep updates on the progress of this project posted on this blog.

I encourage any and all comments. There are still some other items being worked on by some very special elves. As soon as I am given the go ahead I will be letting everyone now what these projects are. I am even more excited about them than the new sleigh

Santa Has Been Busy

There has been quite a few things going on lately. As I had said before I am co-chair of the workshops committee for the First Convention of AORBS (Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santa's) So I have been talking to a lot of other Jolly Old Elfs (JOE'S) Our convention will be in Branson Missouri July 6th through the 9th. We are anticipating 350 to 500 Real Bearded Santa's.
We are having a parade through Branson all Santa's & Mrs. going through town at 7:00a.m. It is that early for 2 reasons if we wait any later Santa's would be dropping like flies in their suits because of the heat. The other is they are looking for the morning news programs to pick it up. That should be quite a site to see all that red and white.

That is going to be a busy week due to Santa-America will be doing their training sessions starting 2 days ahead of the AORBS Convention that way more Santa's will be able to do both.

There are still some other exciting things going on as well. One of which is that this blog could end up being the basis for a book that I have been asked to write. Of course whatever names I use will have to be changed to protect the guilty.

Then I have a new wonderful friend in Arizona that is working on some other things that will enhance my Santa duties. When I can tell everyone about it this will be the first place the news will come out.

People are actually starting to send comments and I am trying to figure out how to get them to come up automatically so that everyone can check them out. So keep those comments coming I enjoy being able to read them.

It has been a long time

I guess it has been a long time since I have posted here. I have been busier than I thought. I had the opportunity to visit my #1 elf at college this last weekend and he has decided that he is not going to major in music education. He put me into shock when he said he wanted to major in Pastoral studies. He feels that he is being called to become a Pastor.

Well I have been working on some other new things and when it is finalized this is where it will be heard first. I am not sure how long it will take though. A lot of what I am working on has to do with this blog though.

Hey Santa Christmas is Over

Today I had the opportunity to visit with my friend Santa Patwho spent his time in Joliet, Illinois While I was having the front end aligned on Mrs. Claus car. We were able to share some our stories from the last season, it should not be surprising that the children up there were not that much different than the ones I found in Southern California.

When the car was done I went over to a trade show, it is mainly for farming but they do have a vendors there showing off their new tools. I was seeing if they had anything new that would make my job of making Santa belt buckles easier.

As I was walking past one of the implement dealers there were some salesmen sitting on some equipment and one of they called out to me, Hey Santa Christmas is over. So I had to ask him "So does that mean that Santa just dies the next day. The look on this guys face was priceless, and then the other guys let him know that I had got him pretty good. That was almost as good as the three little girls from last week.

I am getting my e-bay store up and running again after being on vacation mode. It takes a little time to list the new items and I want to have my Santa Belt buckles up on there within the next couple days. If you go on e-bay I think you can do a store search and the name of mine is pretty easy, I Believe In Santa.

Web Site problems

Well I went to my website this morning and found it to be full of new problems nothing was working right. So it looks like I will have to start from scratch again. I hope to have it all in proper order and working within the week as it takes me awhile to get everythin up and running. I can still get e-mails though.

Mrs. Claus and I are enjoying the empty nest thing but we still miss Shane being here at home. This morning he received his official certificate and ID from The Royal Order of Santa Claus and National Santa Claus registry.

I will let everyone know when I have the website up and running again but I think I will give it a couple of days before I do, just to make sure it is running right.

The Cats out of the bag

I just realized that I have repeated some things on this posting so you can just go down to the new information. It seems that once I put a photo up on this site I am unable to take it off. I think I have been able to edit enough to put the new informaion in Blue on this posting so you can just scroll past the red. As you can see Mrs. Claus was very happy to see Santa get home. Of course we still had a few stops to make before we could go home on Christmas Day. Our first stop was to see my friend Adam my special friend who is pictured here on the right. My first trip to see him was three years ago. Everytime I show up he is just like the first time very excited to see that Santa actually came by his house on Christmas Day just to see him. I felt like this year was special, he was the first one to see Santa in his new suit. The first year I was in the one Mrs. Claus had made for me and last year I went directly from the airport in my red bib overalls. He never cared he just knew it was Santa coming to see Adam.

This is a photo of my good friend JoAnn with Santa. She told me about Adam and I knew I just had to go see him. JoAnn has been the one who gives me the updates on Adam some of his shenanigans and what he has been up to. This year she gave me all the important information then told me he turns 25 this year. He would like to have a college cheerleading team come by and do a cheer for him and maybe sing Happy Birthday. So I guess I will be working on trying to make that happen for him, only because is is a good kid most of the time. Well as all should know by now Santa managed to be going too fast on his way to the next stop. I thought I was going to see my friend John and his inlaws just a courtesy stop no big deal.

What John had not told me was that I would meet a new special friend when I

arrived there. So here is my friend Rusty again one that

was very excited to see me. When we arrived Rusty came out of the garage, and was as surprised to see me as I was to see him. I finally was able to get him to take me in to see John and the rest of his family. John and his father in law own the company that cuts out my buckles for me. Water Extreme Technologies. They did all the artistic metal work at the Great Falls International Airport.

My first week home from Westfields Plaza Bonita I just wanted to catch up on some rest and relaxation. So that was exactly what I did for the next 8 days. Then it was time to help Shane get ready to go off to college. Buying the last minute things that he thought he would need taking all of his suits and sport coats to the dry cleaners and picking them up. Talk about sticker shock that was a huge dry cleaning bill! I was able to get into see Patty at Raz Matazz to have my roots taken care of, so that we could get our family portraits done again as the ones we did before I went to San Diego had a problem seems that Shane's glasses produced large glares so this time we did it without glasses. This bleaching my hair is getting to be some what of a mess my hair is growing too fast. So in order to keep the image of Santa alive all year round which will be required for me to volunteer with Santa_America I will need to get it done at least every eight weeks. Any way we put Shane on Amtrak on Friday January 6th and sent him off to Owatanna, Minnesota. He is starting mid year at Pillsbury Baptist Bible College, he wants to graduate with a degree in Theology as well as music education.

So this last week I have spent on changing over my web hosting company and rebuilding my web site. So now the new one is up and running still needs a little tweaking though. It can be found at http://www.ibelieveinsanta.net. There are links to a biography that I am still working on, as well as a link to this blog. Still under construction are the pages that will have my Santa Belt Buckles listed for sale as well as a photo album so that you won't have to put up with so many photos on this blog.

Now here is where the cat gets out of the bag. Some of my friends know quite a bit of information about me. At Westfields Plaza Bonita one current employee and one former employee had tmi. Too Much Information about Santa. A little hint for those that did not know would be to put it like this Too Information Much. But no one there knew where I lived other than the North Pole some knew that I was known to spend some time in Montana. Now all will know even more information than they should by visiting my new website.

I will try not to let so much time lapse between entries on this blog so that maybe they will not be so long.

Lead Foot Santa

One of the highlights of my visit to Plaza Bonita was Hyundai's Califronia Drive Inn, and yet I knew it was a mistake. Well I got the 3:00 a.m. wake up call tried to gather my wits loaded up my trunks and headed to the airport. I took the rental car back and they took me to the terminal. I thought good I can get checked in throught security and maybe take a nap while I waited for the plane to start boarding. There was no one at the counter so I went to the self service check in and could not get it to work. then I read the screen and it said that it would not be operational until 4:33 a.m. Then this lady comes along and opens them up and says they will not start until 5:00. I was sure security would be holding me up and I would have to make a mad dash for a plane.

As it turned out I was delayed by security seems my suspenders are the culprit. I went up the stairs and was right at my gate. The flight to Denver was peaceful I think there was a short nap. A little over 2 hours layover. The meeting that I was looking forward to did not take place. My flight from Denver to the North Pole was very crowded a jolly old fat man just doesn't fit well in those little airplane seats.

When I got off the plane Mrs. Claus and my number 1 elf were waiting for me with my new suit from Adelles of Hollywood. So I changed into it immediately and we headed off to see Adam on what has become an annual Christmas day visit. He was just as surprised as he has always been. We had a great visit this year I tried not to show how tired I really was. And he introduced me to his new dog, Sunshine who was a bundle of excited fur and did not sit still much. Then Adam had to show me his new recliner and flat screen T.V. of course I already knew about them. Adam Santa & Mrs Claus.

Of course Santa had to try out Adam's new recliner it was the most comfortable seat I have been in in 45 days. So our visit complete with Adam we headed across town to visit with John and his Family. John's Company is the one who cuts out my belt buckles so I can do the finish work on them. This photo of Santa in Adam's chair shows a fair view of one style of buckle.

Now the next information came from a local paper I have tried to edit it to keep some people from knowing exactly where this Santa's North Pole is located. There is one error it says that I was driving 50 miles per hour and when Officer Green came up to the window he told me I was going 40 mph. Another error is where it says I worked as Santa Claus there. What it should have said was that I was Santa Claus there. This is my take on the situation as it happened. I was driving north bound when I noticed the Police car and looked down at my speedometer and knew I was going to fast so I slowed down. Then he turned around coming up behind me with his lights on. I pulled over and he told me I was going 40 mph. He informed me that he was just going to give me a warning, but he needed to see my drivers license so I pulled out my little ID keeper and started to open it up so he could see the regular one. Then I decided it was Christmas and I had my suit on so I should show him my North Pole License. That has usually gotten a chuckle and then I am asked for the real thing. But Officer Green was going right along with it and he called in on his radio, need a 29 check on a license. There was a brief silence then he said it is out of the North Pole, last name of Claus first of Santa, long silence then the dispatcher came on and siad he's not in the system. Officer Green handed me back my I.D. and asked me to slow down and have a Merry Christmas. I thought that it was over. The next evening when the elf came home from work he brought me a copy of this article.

Police give Santa Christmas Gift
Great Falls Police Officer John Green pulled over Santa Claus on Christmas for speeding but declined to write him a ticket.
"Oh, he was jolly," Green said of Claus.
But otherwise, Green discovered that at least two commonly held beliefs about Claus are incorrect.
Claus is widely believed to drive a sleigh and live in the North Pole.
In fact, Green said, Claus drove what appeared to be an Oldsmobile, or a similar mid-size American car. His driver's license showed that he resides in _______.
Sunday afternoon, Green pulled over a car heading north on 38th St. near Schulte's Coffee House. The driver clipped along at 50 miles an hour in a 25 mph zone, he said.
When Green approached the car, he noticed that the driver wore a full beard and a big red shirt.
Green asked for identification, and the driver handed him a driver's license that identified him as Santa Claus.
Claus explained that he was just getting back to _________ from a seven-week stint in San Diego, Green said. (He had worked as Santa Claus there.)
Claus told Green he was "tired," but Claus did not try to talk himself out of a ticket, Green said.
Green wasn't inclined to issue a citation, either.
"I can't give the big man a ticket," he said.
Instead, he issued Claus a verbal warning.
He said that by issuing the warning, he hoped to avoid a lump of coal in his stocking next year.
Sunday, Lt. Tito Rodriguez defended Green's decision to let Claus off with a warning.
Claus might have a valid reason to exceed the speed limit, Rodriguez said.
"Santa's got a lot of ground to cover," he said.
Green, however, said he wasn't likely to write anyone a ticket on Christmas.

So now we start off to visit John's Family again Mrs. Claus had told me it would be all adults so I thought it could be interesting. As we were walking up to the house out of the garage comes Rusty as it turns out Rusty is one of Santa's special friends. He was interesting to say the least, and an unexpected pleasant surprise. We had a fun visit with Rusty.

Now it's time to go to the hospital and see my mother in law. She had broke her hip on Wednesday and the put a pin in it. She was still in a lot of pain and not wanting to listen to any of the Doctors or Nurses, I guess that is the way it gets as you get more mature. By now Santa is totally exhausted ready to go home for a home cooked meal, kick back in my favorite chair and watch all the good Christmas movies that Mrs. Claus had taped for me. So I hope all have had a Merry Christmas and wishing everyone a Happy New Year. I will be making post on here from time to time just not every day for awhile. It should be at least everyweek though.

Wrap up for 2005 season

I know the date is not set at Dec. 24 but this blog puts in the date that you write the blog. So we will go back to Dec. 24th. I think at one point today the line was taking 3 1/2 hours to get to Santa. There were times in the previous 2 days where the line had got to be 2 hours long. I was so greatful for security today or I never would have got a break. It was nice being able to go to their potlock some great food.

The gift package that I received from Plaza Bonita was wonderful I will always cherish the card holder engraved with I BELIEVE on the cover. Mrs. Claus enjoyed her gift as well. especially Santa getting back home. Now I am getting ahead of myself. We had 261 visits on the 24th and 1 dog. That brought the season total to 6,423 and 19 dogs. So over the 42 days there we averaged 152.92857 visits per day. That was 396 hours on the Santa set which amounts to 16.219696 visits per hour. So as an estimated that would come to about 30,000 flashes going off at me. that is guessing only 5 flashes per visit, and I am sure there was more than that.

The most asked gor gift by little girls was a Dora talking Kitchen, for the little boys it was Thomas the train. The bigger kids wanted the previously mentioned high priced items. Two of the best requested gifts in my books was the boy who just wanted his family and friends to have a wonderful Christmas and nothing else. Then the little boy who just wanted a old fashion spinning top.

I was relieved to get back to my motel the people at Holiday Inn Express had treated me so well as good as Westfields Plaza Bonita Team. I filled up the rental car with gas, ordered a Pizza and shared it with Kyle at the front desk. Then finished my packing so I could get to bed early for a 3:00 a.m. wake up call to make my flight. I think it was closer to 11:30 before I got to sleep.

Check back in tommorrow for the trip back to the North Pole, There you will find out about lead foot Santa.

38 hours til Santa arrives back at north pole

It is real close to time to close out this Santa's Christmas season. Yes I said Christmas season not Holiday I am not very politically correct today. I do not do that to offend anyone as I will and do recongize all of the other holidays that are celebrated.

Thank God for the Children they really do make it all worth while. Yesterday and today as well I experienced some of that Holiday spirit the people who have done nothing for the last 40 days and then all of a sudden they have to go do some shopping and while they are at it they will do photos with Santa. That isn't bad but this is one Santa who has no super powers. When I start sitting in the chair at 8:00 in the morning I still need to have lunch and relax for a bit. Then after another 4 hours I would like to take another break have some dinner and relax a bit. Then at 9:00 p.m. I am ready to go home and relax a bit before I try to get some sleep so that I can start the whole thing all over again at 8:00 a.m. The problems the last 2 days is that Parents do not seem to think I should take those breaks or leave at 9:00p.m. Those are the ones that spoil it. And they ones who want to make big issues out of things that should have just been left alone.

This is why I do this Santa stuff after I returned from lunch a little boy who had waited in line between 1 1/2 to 2 hours sat on my lap with his brother and sister they got the photo taken and I asked what they wanted for Christmas. The one boy says he just wants all of his friends and family to have a Merry Christmas. Then a couple of visits later another boy responded to the same question with I really don't want anything. Especially after all the request I received for these items X-Box 360 priced around $450.00 if you could find one. I-Pods at $300.00 PSP's at about $250.00 and cell phones for 8 year olds. That might not have been bad but I could not count the number of children who wanted at least 2 of the above items if not all of them. It sure made me feel for some parents bank accounts. These people sure did some great marketing.

That was so refreshing. today at 2:45 we had our 6,000th person make it to the Santa set. The day ended with a daily total of 339 the third largest day of the season. bring us to 6,162 visits with one more day to go.

Jeff finally got in the spirit even if his hat made him look like a Santa puppy dog. I think the Polar Express finally got him. A big thanks to Jeff for taking the worry off me in regard to Mrs. Claus's rocking horse.

2 Days With 20 Hours Left on the Santa Set

As much fun as it is with the children after being away from home for 42 days I am looking forward to taking a break from all the noise. Spending some quality time with my wife and son and having my dog tell me off for being gone for so long. About my dog Mrs. Claus found him along the road about 9 years ago while we were still dating. She really did not want to keep him but after I saw how he protected her I convinced her it would be the right thing after no one claimed him. Well Cody has become rather spoiled and he really likes to go to the local cafe with me when I go down for coffee. So he jumps in the back of the truck and while I am in the cafe he sits on the roof waiting for me to come out. Well on the occasions that he has been left home for one reason or another, when I return he starts talking to me sounds like scoobey doo. So when I get home from this trip I am sure I will get an earfull about being gone so long then he will let me know about everything that has happened while I was gone.

Some good byes started today first was Lupe from here at the motel she will be going to Mexico with her family for the holidays. Then this afternoon Trish the administrative assistant, said goodbye as she is getting a long weekend off. Jose from building maintenance left this evening for New Mexico to spend time with his family.

I will start adding photos from my visit at Plaza Bonita this year.

The one to the left is my friend Trish

This one above is Sarah Tricia's daughter who is one of my biggest believers

I cannot forget the ladies in the concierge so here
goes the first one now I have done it I think it is Yvonne. She was testing me on Westfield Standards and was one of those who always had a smiling face. She was sweet enough to bake me up a miniature loaf of banana bread that unfortunately got misplaced before I had a chance to try it.It was difficult to get all of these ladies together for one photo they were always so busy helping people at Plaza Bonita and I am sorry I did not get photos of all of them and if I get a name wrong please feel free to correct me by responding in the comments section.



Now we have Yolanda another smiling face who was always happy to see Santa. She fixed me up with the cutest Santa Decoration with candy in it.

Now I will really get in trouble as I have forgot this ones name completely. I do know that her and her sister both work as concierges at Plaza Bonita.

Now I will really get in trouble as I have forgot this ones name. I do know that her sister is also a member of the concierge staff. And they are the ones who suggested that I purchase the frozen dinners at the store rather than having to eat from the food court all the time. That saved me a lot of headaches and dollars. Everyone in the concierge were very good to me. Well I think I will let this one be done and go on to the next one

We are having fun

Mrs. Claus gave me my morning wake up call and told me that her mother had indeed broke her hip and they will be doing surgery on her this morning.

A few blogs back I mention having a lady from the Club Walkers who was 97 years young sit on Santa's lap. well I finally got that picture due to waiting for release. I was told by one of the other club members that she has been a club walker for a long time and just recently slowed down a bit.

When I returned to my motel last night the employee party was still in progress. I had been invited to it earlier but had decided that timing would be tough it was supposed to go from 5 to 7 and I got there at 9:30 so I popped my head in to say hello to everyone. The staff here at Holiday Inn express has done a great job. More of those always friendly faces helping to make me feel at home. So last night we managed to get a few photos of staff sitting on Santa's lap in front of the Christmas Tree. If I get to come back to Plaza Bonita next year I will have a nice comfortable place to stay.

I Have Left out a couple people in my blog

Alright my friend Javier who has far TMI on Santa has felt left out as he has only been mentioned once in this blog so I thought I should fix it promptly. So here it is Javier is the Senior Concierge here at Plaza Bonita, I think he is responsible for all the others that work in the concierge. O. K. for those that live in the midwest it is a fancy word for guest services. For Santa they are just a bunch of neat people who do a lot of different things. But are always quick to say Hello Santa, Good Morning Santa, and then at the end of some long days they will say Good Night Santa. But it is really difficult to get them together for a group photo with Santa. So Javier you and your co harts have been mentioned and to make sure you never feel left out again I will mention you some more. Javier,Javier,Javier,Javier,Javier, JavierJavier, Javier, Javier, Javier, Javier,Javier,Javier,Javier Javier,Javier, Javier Javier Javier Javier Javier. Now I will probably get told I spelled it wrong.

Now then I have not said a great deal about Rhonda, she is the Marketing Director at Plaza Bonita. I have 3 different photos of her and she should probably be thinking about now I hope Santa did not put a bad one in here.I have not seen a great deal of her as she is always busy doing something. I found out today that she does not like to be photographed. I did try to catch her off guard but with this digital stuff there is that slight delay that gives the person enough time to hide. So the first shot I got of her was of her hiding her face, She was then worried that people would see her desk and really find out that she does not have a sick mind. As I am sure most have heard that a clean desk is the sign of a sick mind. So she thought I should take another one I did immediately and her hair was standing out like she was flying away to her next task. I really liked that one, but she will have to keep reading to find out which one I used. The last one she actually posed for and it turned out good especially after I did some editing to it. The Photo will show up eventually in this blog.

Today was not a great day for Santa I wound up taking things far too personal, some stuff that I did not have a great deal of control over, but it will turn out alright.

Lunch was good a couple of people that I have dined with regularly at noon while the news was on. Trish and Jeff. They have made that time of day pleasant for me. And this afternoon Mr. Andy brought me in this really neat batch of cookies in a Jar that his family had made up for the each of the Plaza Bonita team. He gave it to me and said he considered me one of the team. That felt good.

Well the second generation Santa is improving, but as you can see he has my favorite person helping him out. My Mrs. Claus is giving him a little guidance I just realized he does not have his hat on in this photo and he probably does not even realize it. As I was leaving the Santa set this evening Mrs. Claus called me to let me know that she was at the hospital at the North Pole (that would be the far east for Javier) with her mother and that is appears she has broke her hip. I knew there was a good reason for not having Mrs. Claus with me this year.

We did get another pet photo in today a little boy brought in his dog it was either a chi whoa whoa or a miniature doberman, but only he would know for sure.Oh, alright we finally are getting to Rhonda's photo. I just had to go with the one of her with her hair standing straight out.

so now I will find out if she reads the blog or not Gotcha Rhonda

285 visits today for a total of 5515 for the season and 17 dogs

5000 That is Five Thousand

Today at noon just before I went on my lunch break we had our 5000th visitor to see Santa. I would venture a guess that we get to about 6500 by 6:00 Saturday.

At lunch today I was priveledged to have lunch with some special people. Sara, Angelina, and Simean had been building gift boxes all morning but had started watching the Polar Express Movie on dvd at about 11:00, so when I arrived our group had expanded to include Trish, Jeff, and Donna and we all finished watching the movie together. Kevin had made a brief appearance and took this photo for us

After the movie we were discussing the bell and who could really hear it ringing.

Sara got her Bell

My Escorts had decided that if they could walk Santa back to the set they would be the most popular kids around. Oh and they all had bells.

We finished the day with 310 visits bringing us up to 5230 visits so far this season

Little Sisters Make Great Secretaries

This morning started slow but a lot of fun. On two separate visits about 15 minutes apart, a brother and sister were visiting with Santa and when I asked the girls what they wanted they started spouting off all kinds of request. Then I would ask the bigger brothers what they wanted the reply was I don't know for sure. Then their little sisters would say I know what he wants and proceed to tell me they item, the bigger brothers both had said yeah that's what I want.

Before I get into too much trouble I better acknowledge the operations crew these are the guys who have to make sure that all the plumbing electrical and air conditioning is operating properly. They are also involved in making sure the Santa set is working.

Now onto other things. A lady came in this morning with her 3 boys and one of the boys said that mom said I gave her a bell last year and wanted to know if it was true. I was not sure but told him that I had. After the photos and request were done I just had to ask mom if I had. She said yes and that it had become something very special. She has started her own tradition with the bell, when they decorate their tree she puts it toward the top and magically on Christmas morning it has been moved to the bottom. She was so moved by the Polar Express and the bell that I had given her that for family gifts this year she is giving a tin of popcorn with the Polar Express DVD attached.

Well I did manage to get another dog today for a photo with the children. Well it is supposed to be a dog a little bity thing they call a chihuahua. Or as some would pronounce it Chi hooa hooa. The best part was the little boy had to hold the pet.

Today was the busiest yet as far as Santa visits was concerned. 363 visits bring our totals so far to 4,920 with 17 dogs.

Tiger Who?

This last Sunday started out kinda slow then I found out that the Chargers started playing at 10:00a.m. When I went on my lunch break I had the opportunity to watch for about 50 minutes. The highlites for that game should start out have you ever seen so many mistakes. I had to return to the Santa set with about 6 minutes left in the game. Oh well they are not my home team so no big loss. I sure thought the colts were coming back to win, only to have one of the ladies that had been standing in line tell me that the Chargers had won. I guess her telephone updated the scores for her.

This afternoon I had Tiger __ _ _ .................. his last name is that of a famous golfer from late 60's. I asked him if he played golf he said he started when was 5 so then I asked what's your handicap when he said six I laughed and so did his dad.

By dinner time we had right at 200 visits on the set, and I was feeling it so I really was ready to go a little early. When I arrived at the office for put my dinner in the microwave Donna asked if I had seen "THE LETTER" I was not sure so she said she would make me a copy. It was from the National City Adult School the Mommy & Me classes, it was a really neat letter about Santa and Westfield's Plaza Bonita signed by 24 parents. After reading that I was charged and ready to go. Another one of those warm fuzzy things.

We ended the day with 307 visits bringing the number for the season to 4557.

Only 6 days left at Plaza Bonita.