A couple of years ago, I was asked to help out good ol' Kris Kringle at church for the children's program by playing Santa for the children. Let me say this--if you're feeling a bit Grinchy in your heart and not getting the spirit, I cannot recommend donning the Santa outfit. Yes, there were some children (BB and his partner in crime JAB) who saw right though the fact that it was someone they knew from church in the suit helping Santa, but there were some children who had complete and total faith that I was Kris Kringle. That child like wonder is absolutely amazing. I got lots of requests for puppies and kitties to which I replied that Santa would have to check with Mommy and Daddy to see if that was OK. I didn't make any promises that Santa could not keep--that's pretty much rule one of wearing the suit.
Of course, the worst part of it was that the night I got to dress up in the suit, we were having something of a heat wave. Now it wasn't summer like, but it was still in the upper 50s/lower 60s outside. The suit was HOT. I now see why Santa has to eat cookies at each stop along the way--if he didn't, he'd pass out from exhaustion. I bet it's not so much the cookies that Saint Nick needs as the fluid replacement from drinking the milk.
All that said, it was still a wonderful experience. In fact, I'm looking around for a Santa suit that I can borrow/rent for a low price now. I want to take Gracelyn and Davis to see Santa and take about a million pictures. But I thought--you know, it would be really cool if I dressed up like Santa and dropped by their hosue for a visit. When I was little, Santa came by my hosue for a visit and I thought it was really cool. And Gracelyn and Davis are at the perfect age for Santa to drop by to hang out, know their names, eat some cookies and tell them to be good little girls and boys.
posted by Michael Hickerson at 12/06/2004 10:50:00 AM |
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