HeadSpill

This weekend I was Santa for a school Christmas fare. Not actually THE santa you understand but ‘one of the santa’s’, even though to me, after a very short time in costume I actually was Santa. I’d make the analagy that it’s a bit like being an Elvis impersonator, they are not actally Elvis, but If you asked them most would claim to actually be Elvis, even though like Santa, Elvis Presley is a mythological figure. Allegedly.

It’s the first time I’ve been santa, and while fun it’s quite demanding, and required me to stay in character for 2 hours with only a couple of (very) short breaks, in order to get through the inexhaustable supply of children queued up outside the wonderfully decorated grotto which I inhabited. I did scare a few with my very loud “HO HO HO! ing”, and one nearly cried when I asked the question ‘have you been good this year?’.

Before the kids came in I was asked “are you ready?” to which I replied yes. Then asked again “are you ready?” in a slightly loaded fashion which I took to mean, “Dont f**k this up”, “You’re not going anywhere now” and “Don’t break the childrens dreams” all at once. I was ok, it was cool.

If there was any presure at all, it came not from the childrens’ demands for a WII (My Santa didn’t know what a WII is, oh the hilarity of misunderstanding!), but from the odd parent who came in with an agenda, one of which made sure their child completed a huge mental checklist of presents, while they themselves fixed me a stare to ensure I complied with their clearly highly regimented and probably not very fun vision of what christmas is in their house, giving the impression of winning over a child’s love by throwing as many presents at them as possible, spoiling them to the point where they’ll probably grow up to be a bit of a knob.

But that was small potatoes, it was great fun, and for every kid who came in wearing an item of doctor who clothing, they now think Santa is close personal friends with the Doctor. I’m told I did a sterling job. Sweet.