
No this isn’t a picture of Carol dressed as Santa (credit below) and thank you to Carol for this very amusing post!
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I don’t have children of my own but have a lovely step-daughter and the good fortune of being blessed with two wonderful step-grandchildren, both of whom are now young adults, 6’2” and 5’ 10” (never was very good with ages!)
Not sure how it came about, but around fifteen years ago I was “volunteered” to dress up as Santa and visit the grandchildren on Christmas day (must have been under the influence – there is no way I would have done it otherwise, it’s so not me!) Their mother was a single mum, and being all things to two young kids is a tough gig at the best of times but at Christmas it’s even more stressful and exhausting – it would have been churlish of me to back out.
So I found the outfit, easy bit. Then I had to get in to character. Booming out Ho! Ho! Ho! in the deepest possible voice I could manage did get me a few odd looks – well I was in Sainsbury’s!
After much practice I considered myself a passable Santa and got quite excited at the prospect of posing as him.
The twist was that the children were supposed to see me. I explained to them I was late because there are so many children in the world to visit now that it takes me much longer to do my rounds. Why Bournemouth should be the last stop heaven knows, but fortunately they didn’t question the logistics!
Boy did I have to have my wits about me! I clocked the pastry crumbs, empty glass and remnants of carrot on the fireplace and quickly had to say how much I enjoyed the mince pies and the welcome drink of milk, adding that Rudolph had munched happily on his treat too. Congratulating myself on my handling of the refreshments saga, I thought “this isn’t so bad after all “and began to relax and enjoy the whole experience. Then, from my granddaughter (why is it always the girls?!!?) came the awkward question “can I see your reindeer?” “Kids are hard work sometimes” I thought, swiftly followed by “I’m not cut out for this” but undaunted I invented the explanation that due to the lack of parking spaces, (everyone was at home, it being a holiday) the sleigh and reindeer had to be left a few streets away where they were safe (yep, even Santa has to comply with Health & Safety and traffic regulations, not mention the RSPCA). Thankfully, before she could press me further on the matter, I managed to distract her with my sack of goodies!
Once presents had been distributed and my knee had been sat upon until it was numb, I did a few more” Ho Ho Hos” and “Merry Christmas children” then legged it back to my car to change into civvies (If Superman can change in a ‘phone box, then a Vauxhall Astra is good enough for me!)
Got me a few beeps from passing cars I can tell you!!
Having done my Clark Kent bit, I took a couple of deep breaths and strolled back to the house. Nonchalantly I knocked on the front door, whereupon I was greeted with “Carol, you’ve just missed Santa, he was here!” Brought a tear to my eye………Ah, the magic of Christmas!
*Of course my most burning question was if Carol’s voice is naturally very deep but she said no she had to practice and it gave her a sore throat!! The “kids” still remember this after all these years. Ahh, isn’t that what Christmas is all about?!
Carol Dickinson at the Exotic paper Company works very hard to ensure the North Pole is kept fully stocked with their wonderful paper. Do have a browse – their products are really gorgeous, very ‘different’ and of course very environmentally friendly!
Feature Image courtesy of Unsplash. Photo by Srikanta H.U.
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If your child believes in Father Christmas and you want to keep the magic for as long as possible, Elfie’s Christmas Letters (advent letters) and our North Pole Christmas Letters are absolutely perfect! Elfie’s Birthday Letters are available in the Shop too and are perfect for that extra unexpected surprise.
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