Santa Claus
In Des
Moines
To schedule a visit desmoinessanta@gmail.com or call 515-635-5721
Visit Santa on Gig Salad
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DO YOU
KNOW WHO Well of course you do. In America I am called SANTA CLAUS. But in some countries children call me
Saint Nikolas or Sinterclaus, Father Frost, Old Man Christmas, Pere
Noel or Baboo Natalie. Do you know why St. Nicholas Is the Patron Saint of children? Because children who are young at
heart Believe in Santa And I believe in you too. Santa has a Secret. I know that children are the Light
of the World They
Are Our Hope For The Future |
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You see children the Jolly Old Elf is a Magical Spirit In the land of France children expect Pere Noel to visit
them with
candy treats and little presents made of wood. In Italy, Baboo
Natalie comes in search of the Wisemen and the
Baby King. In Holland the little ones are looking for SinterKlass to visit them. But here in America all good little girls and boys who believe
receive a visit from Santa Claus.
Nothing makes me sadder than a child Who doesn't Believe in me How could you not Believe in me? I'M STANDING RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF YOU. |
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The children in England call me Grandfather
Christmas I LIKE THAT. |
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HOW
HEAVEN TAUGHT SANTA TO
BELIEVE Has anyone ever said “You
look like Santa Claus.” Well, that was how
it all began. Immediately
I noticed the man saying that looked just like me. But I never seriously
considered it. First of all I was too young, too light-weight, too busy, too
preoccupied, too self-absorbed, too busy, etc. Then I
considered all of the animals my portraying Santa would help. This was an
animal charity that was encouraging me to put on the suit. I did some
research on portraying Santa and realized that most of these men looked “just
like me.” Maybe my self-image wasn’t keeping up with my advancing years.
Maybe I wasn’t who I thought I was. Just maybe the time for me to become
Santa Claus had come. The real
test came when I realized I would have to commit to a financial investment.
First of all Santa had to have a suit. I couldn’t pretend to be the Spirit of
Christmas and expect the charity to provide me with the suit. No, I’d have to
order some real Santa stuff. I’d have to put up some real money and buy
myself a real Santa Suit. I
researched and found a moderately priced suit I could afford. Nothing fancy,
but a nice utilitarian suit. I helped
out the charity. And then another one. And another one. At some point,
someone asked me if I did private visits. I had never really thought about
it, but why not? So, I did
a few private visits. And then, my regular job disappeared. Hello recession.
I decided I could make a little money portraying Santa, so I started
advertising. One of my
first visits was for a local car enthusiast club. They wanted Santa to meet
them at a local Pizza / Video game establishment. This was the biggest group
I had ever done. This was the first group I didn’t really know, so needless
to say, I was nervous. My “Mrs. Claus” came with me. Partially, I think to
help calm my nerves. This visit
went well. But it went quick. Only about 30 minutes or so. Since the guy who
hired me had paid for 60 minutes, he decided that we should wander around and
visit with the other customers at the pizza place. As we were
walking around talking to people, taking pictures, a little girl with short
brown hair and a purple flowered dress was standing off to the side looking
at me. I got down on my knees and motioned her over to talk. She ran up to me
and threw her little arms around me and hugged me for all she was worth. I
couldn't help but HO, HO, HO. I took her by the
shoulders and gently pushed her back so I could see her face and look into
her eyes. At that moment I saw something I had never seen before;
unconditional love. She didn't know me. But clearly she loved me. She saw me
as Santa Claus. Now, I
knew where to find my story. What I would do. I also knew one very important
thing. The look in the eyes of this little girl had touched my heart and
showed me the way. I understood the meaning and the magic Santa Claus. Yes,
that’s right Santa is a magical Spirit, the Spirit of Christmas. He shows
Christmas happiness and joy and the magic of the holiday. The Spirit of
Christmas infects the hearts and minds of people all over the world. The
joyous expression of giving, sharing love and happiness with others is the
foundation of this gift giving festival of life. Sixteen
centuries ago a Christian Bishop of Myra gave his entire inheritance to those
that needed his help. He believed all mankind were the children of his God
and therefore they were his children, too. He
believed that children are the Hope of the world. And
I, too, believe. |
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One
year, a little girl asked me "WHO ARE YOUR
PARENTS?" Well, I
started to explain to her the basic historical progression from
Saint Nicholas (the gift-giver) through Pere Noel, Baboo
Natalie, Kris Kringle, Sinterklass,
etc. But I could see (by the look in her eyes) this wasn't satisfactory.
This wasn't what she meant. She wanted to know WHO my parents were.
Well, I was caught by surprise. How could I not have seen this question
coming? So, I slept on it and during the night the answer came to me (as
is so often the case). You see
basically Santa Claus is a magical creature who is made from Stardust.
His mother was Mother Nature and we use holly, ivy, and even the mistletoe to
symbolically remind us that (even in the dead of winter) Mother Nature
promises us that just like the evergreen (the conifer tree) life is Eternal.
His father was Father Time and that's why Santa can deliver toys to all the
good little girls and boys (who believe) in just one night. |
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Sometimes
children ask me "DO YOU MAKE
ALL THE TOYS?" Oh, my
goodness "NO" I tell them. Santa
is much too old a spirit to be making all the toys. Santa
can’t work so hard. Elves make the
toys. “Do you know the names of Santa’s elves?” MATTEL is my oldest Elf.
He's been with me the longest. Then
there's HASBRO. He's the boss of the Elves. I like to
call him "My Little Bro." And of
course there are the twins; FISHER & PRICE. They're mischievous little rascals. Always
playing tricks on Santa and the others. And of
course there's TONKA. He's the
biggest Elf of them all. He's so big some people say he's "BUILT LIKE A
TRUCK." And
finally there's Mrs. Claus' singing Elf; Presley. Elfis Presley Mrs. Claus calls him "The King of the
Elves." |
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The symbolic significance of the
evergreen is Natures Promise of Everlasting Life. Even in the dead of winter
the evergreen (confers, holly, mistletoe) remain alive and can be observed in
their green and living condition. You see inside the acorn there is no
actual tree but there does live within it the idea of a tree. Of
course an acorn cannot ask for help, it cannot move nor can it even think on
its own. But it does retain the intention that inside there exists a tree. When it becomes buried by
its surroundings and overwhelmed by natural circumstances, it begins to
express this idea of a tree. An acorn does not wish to be more than it is.
Nor would it complain about its circumstances if it could. It simply makes use of the
energy it holds within itself to
manifest Nature's purpose; its intention to become a
tree. To bring that idea to life. When the rain and floods come, the
little acorn doesn't fear adversity NOR would it hide from life's tribulations even if it could.
It uses the water to
nurture the idea that IT IS A TREE.
When the heat of the sun shines
upon it, the acorn focuses the warmth and energy from the sun and begins
to transform this idea of a tree into reality. This is its destiny. The acorn
represents REBIRTH and Natures Promise that even in the dead
of winter Everything will be reborn. Even for those things that die in winter . . . the
HOPE of SPRING still exists.
And it is Mother Nature’s example to all
living things
That life is eternal and we too will all live again. |
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To schedule a visit desmoinessanta@gmail.com or call 515-635-5721
Visit Santa on Gig Salad