According to The New York Times, the graduates of the Charles W. Howard Santa School in Midland, Michigan are learning that there's a lot more to the job than meets the eye. The school, which draws several hundred would-be Santas for its annual three-day course, is now having to coach their students on how to size up a families' financial situation and decide whether or not to scale back their child's Christmas list.
Sometimes it's easy, such as when parents are standing off to the side, furiously shaking their head no while their child asks for an expensive new toy. At other times, it's downright heartwrenching when a poor child asks for nothing more than a pair of sneakers that fit or another who asks, "Can you bring my daddy a job?"
“In the end, Santas have to be sure to never promise anything,” said Fred Honerkamp, an alumnus of the school who also lectures there. He came up with his own tale about a wayward elf and slow toy production to explain why children can't receive everything they ask for. “It’s hard to watch sometimes because the children are like little barometers, mirrors on what the country has been through.”
Rick Parris, a former Alabama state trooper, has his own way of dealing with the reality of the times. “When kids start asking for the world now, I just say, ‘Hey, look, Johnny, you ain’t getting all that.’ I just make sure to let them know that Santa seldom brings everything on a list.”
A sluggish economy and parents out of work doesn't necessarily translate into shorter Christmas lists, however. Some children actually show up with printouts and cross-referenced spread sheets detailing all the gifts they want.
“I try to guide the children into not so unrealistic things, and I do tell them that Santa’s been cutting back too,” said Tom Ruperd, of Caro, Michigan, who said his measured responses often draw silent praise from nearby parents.
But when children asked for the impossible, such as bringing their parent a new job, he tells the truth.
“If they asked for something that’s totally impossible — a job for Daddy, say — I usually tell them, ‘Santa specializes in toys, but we can always pray on the other,’ ” Ruperd said. He then asks, "Is there anything in toys that you’d like?”
Ironically, the poor economy has actually been a boon for Santas, drawing men who are dealing with unemployment or shrunken retirement accounts. This year's class was the largest in history. Although many in the class were returning alumni, new students included an accountant and an aerospace engineer who were lured to the work and the promise of up to $50 an hour for work in shopping malls.
But the most thing about being Santa is to likeable says Thomas F. Valent, a longtime Santa who took over the school in 1986.
“The important thing is that people really like Santa," he said. "He stands for all good things. So you just have to be the best Santa you can.”
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