'Twas a recent shopping trip when what to my wondering eyes should appear but a vision of Santa Claus from a previous year, in these reprints from Christmas posts past. . .
My daughter confided recently that children in her
five-year-old sons’ kindergarten classes are already attempting to undermine
other kids’ beliefs in Santa Claus. An attempt that seems, somehow, childish.
The boys know there’s more than one kind of reality. They more or less politely derided my pretense that a small plush moose toy named Miles was “real” in the sense of belonging to a species of gigantic quadrupeds whose antlers would get stuck trying to fit through the door of their suburban home. But the boys assured me that Miles, when tucked into a child’s bed, really does keep dreams from turning into nightmares.
That’s the kind of reality Santa Claus has. Just ask his alter ego, psychology professor Carl Anderson, who’s been the face and voice of Santa for more than twenty years at Dallas’s NorthPark Center.
Beginning the day after Thanksgiving, Santa, aka Dr. Anderson, entertains crowds of children and parents daily from his small house on Level One near Macy’s.
When I heard him last week, the crowd of children began chanting “Santa, Santa,” even before he entered the house, and some adults joined the refrain as well during Anderson’s signature story about Trouble the Christmas elf.
The boys know there’s more than one kind of reality. They more or less politely derided my pretense that a small plush moose toy named Miles was “real” in the sense of belonging to a species of gigantic quadrupeds whose antlers would get stuck trying to fit through the door of their suburban home. But the boys assured me that Miles, when tucked into a child’s bed, really does keep dreams from turning into nightmares.
That’s the kind of reality Santa Claus has. Just ask his alter ego, psychology professor Carl Anderson, who’s been the face and voice of Santa for more than twenty years at Dallas’s NorthPark Center.
Beginning the day after Thanksgiving, Santa, aka Dr. Anderson, entertains crowds of children and parents daily from his small house on Level One near Macy’s.
When I heard him last week, the crowd of children began chanting “Santa, Santa,” even before he entered the house, and some adults joined the refrain as well during Anderson’s signature story about Trouble the Christmas elf.
In answer to the often-asked question “Are you the real
Santa?” he writes, “I let them know that whether I am or not I represent their
being cared about and a wish that they be happy. A young boy asked, ‘How do I know if you are the real
Santa?’ I tapped his chest and said, ‘Listen to your heart’. That’s where our
‘truths’ lie.”
Years later, when I
started a Christmas scrapbook for my then eight-year-old grandsons, the first
page included a picture of their first photo with Santa, aka psychology
professor Carl Anderson, who’s been the face and voice of the jolly old elf at
NorthPark mall in Dallas now for twenty-five years.
Despite how busy Santa and his elves are getting all the toys made before
Christmas, “sometimes we take a break,” he confided to his audience this week.
“But we don’t take coffee breaks. We take story breaks.”
And so he launched into this year’s holiday story of “The Old Woman in the Vinegar Bottle,” but not before asking his audience’s help at crucial points in the story about a person who’s too busy wanting things to enjoy what she already has.
And to further help Santa in his mission of bringing joy, he passed along ideas for how even children could bring joy by giving out smiles, waves, hugs and greetings. “When you give love, it comes back to you.”
It will be good advice to remember as we stand in line for visits with Santa, lines so long his helpers give out numbered (free) tickets for the privilege. Although ticket giving starts at 9 a.m., I was warned that the secret to getting a ticket as soon as possible is to arrive early and find spot near Santa’s little storybook house on the first level near Macy’s with the other parents and grandparents eager to snag low-numbered tickets to hang out one on one (or two on one, in my grandkids’ case) with Santa.
Years later, when I
started a Christmas scrapbook for my then eight-year-old grandsons, the first
page included a picture of their first photo with Santa, aka psychology
professor Carl Anderson, who’s been the face and voice of the jolly old elf at
NorthPark mall in Dallas now for twenty-five years.
I’ll admit, sometimes we’ve visited other Santas, but none beat Santa Anderson,
as the crowds of kids and parents who show up to hear his daily storytelling
can attest.
And so he launched into this year’s holiday story of “The Old Woman in the Vinegar Bottle,” but not before asking his audience’s help at crucial points in the story about a person who’s too busy wanting things to enjoy what she already has.
And to further help Santa in his mission of bringing joy, he passed along ideas for how even children could bring joy by giving out smiles, waves, hugs and greetings. “When you give love, it comes back to you.”
It will be good advice to remember as we stand in line for visits with Santa, lines so long his helpers give out numbered (free) tickets for the privilege. Although ticket giving starts at 9 a.m., I was warned that the secret to getting a ticket as soon as possible is to arrive early and find spot near Santa’s little storybook house on the first level near Macy’s with the other parents and grandparents eager to snag low-numbered tickets to hang out one on one (or two on one, in my grandkids’ case) with Santa.
Don’t forget to smile
and wave, but hurry. Because when Santa leaves NorthPark on Christmas Eve, he’s
gone until next year.
There’s no charge for
visits unless you decide to buy professional photos, but family members are
welcome to take their own pictures.
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