Santa’s Sketchbook

I brought my sketchbook to the Santa Gathering, Lancaster, PA. The 4-day Santa convention is an incredible event with over 100 professional Santas. There are vendors of custom suits, designer beards, belts, and buckles. I go to meet other Santas.

Santa Ken is a charming fellow and one of several African-American Santas in attendance. He’s a Vietnam vet and a former disc jockey who worked for radio stations in Newark, NJ, and New York City.

83-year old Santa Fran is also a veteran. He was in the Air Force. He travels up to Pennsylvania from his new home in Florida every year. He is a big fan of Allegiant Air as they have special perks for vets. Years ago, an agency sent him on tour as Santa in Indian Territory in Oklahoma.

Santa John and his wife Sylvia have a mission. They distribute free Christmas books to anyone who promises to get them into the hands of children. He ,too, is a veteran. He served on the USS John F. Kennedy, the last non-nuclear powered aircraft carrier.

Santa Dan has a great smile and great beard. When complimented on his beard, he said, “I’m just lucky.” He was a school teacher for years and wasn’t permitted to grow a beard until he retired. He said he never knew he could grow such a good beard.

While most of the attendees were Santas, there were a number of Mrs. Clauses present.

I kept sketching during the lectures. Skip Bowers of Mason-Dixon Santas gave some frank advice. Personally, as a mall Santa, I remain secular and so never mention Jesus. Skip, however, is also a paster so some of his advice was more suited for Christian youth groups.

He also told us the best answer when a child asks, “Santa, What’s your favorite cookie?” The answer -“Round.” Skip made another good point, – Santa should use the term “pro-bono” rather than “free’ on those occasions you are willing to work for a charity.

Speaking of pro-bono, Santa Jimmy Smentana of Minnesota donates his time each Christmas season to a railroad museum, the Jackson Street Roundhouse, in St. Paul.

The Santa Gathering Talent Show was memorable. I never heard “Jesus Take the Wheel!” before. As my old friend Santa Middy noted, it’s easy to be a convincing ventriloquist when you have a bushy mustache.

There were some glitches with the sound system, so the sock hop didn’t go as well as expected.

We had Bingo and Christmas Trivia. The hardest trivia question was this: Who wrote The Haunted Tea-Cosy: A Dispirited and Distasteful Diversion for Christmas? I’m not going to tell you. I got it wrong. I did win a Snickers bar for getting 6 of 10 questions right.

It wasn’t all fun and games. Well, mostly it was. There was an educational lecture on reindeer husbandry by Cassandra from Spruce Ridge Reindeer Farm.

When I asked my wife, Patt, if she wanted to come to a Santa convention. She said, “Let’s see, Do I really want to be in a room with 100 overweight bearded extroverts? -No, You go, have fun” And I did!

It is a paradox. Santa is Santa, yet each Santa is unique. Santas wear all sort of hats. Yes, Santas do tend to be extroverts. But who wants to go to an introvert convention?

My favorite hat was the red Greek fisherman’s cap worm by Santa George Grasic. He got it at a Santa event many years ago and has never seen another one since.

So glad I brought my sketchbook to collect my memories of the Santa Gathering. Portraying Santa is an odd job, but it is also a calling. If you can make another person experience joy, you are likely to experience joy yourself. Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas!