A family Christmas story — Santa on commission

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Source: Rustyscupper.com

When the beloved husband’s oldest daughter was around 4 or so, they went to visit the mall. There was a Santa there and you could tell him what you wanted. She was very excited and got in line. As her turn came up, the lady elf helping Santa asked how many pictures they would buy. Since they were cheesy Polaroids, the beloved husband said “None.”

The elf signaled the Santa and when the little girl approached him and tried to climb into his lap, he shoved a candy cane in her face and pushed her away. Perhaps Santa worked on commission and he wasn’t wasting his magic on a non-buying child.

It was a huge rejection from an image that was supposed to be kind and giving. As a result the daughter avoided Santa’s and refused to visit again.

A few years later the beloved husband took her to the mall for another reason. She was older and participating in a child’s “present buying” program. The beloved husband went to the bathroom and there was Santa (a different one). He asked if Santa would do him a favor and explained what had happened.

This Santa was indeed kindly and said he would see what he could do. When he went out to his throne, he called to her by name. She immediately hid under a rack of merchandise. He continued talking and asked if she could help him with something. Reluctantly she went over and before you know it she was up on his lap enjoying the whole experience.

At this point she was almost out of the “Santa” stage but the beloved husband was always grateful that she lost her fear of fat old men with beards dressed in fake red velvet. I think that’s a good thing. Maybe.

 

 

41 thoughts on “A family Christmas story — Santa on commission”

  1. I like your final conclusion of “maybe” for the restoration of a child’s faith. My wish if that mall is still around is for it to fail if it did not replace the greedy Santa operation. What a terrible thing to do to a child.

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    • My husband did write to the mall management who assured him that is not how they operate. We can only hope that they replaced both the Santa and the elf. If you knew his daughter you would understand how especially surprising this was. She was a quiet kid. Not jumpy or overexcited like some kids can get especially around Santa.

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  5. How wonderful there was a Santa out there that could rectify the sting of commercialism, aaahhh… the Christmas spirit! Wishing you, your Hubby and all your pusscats the magic of Christmas and a “short-queues-at-the-Starbucks-drive-thru”-new-year! 🙂

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  7. This post did not make me laugh! I know it was a long time ago…but I would still like to grab that Santa by the beard and toss his fat a** out of the mall. How dare he. And given my current lack of feeling of “good will towards men” I would have done just that! Is it the full moon???

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  8. What a terrific story! I wonder if the daughter has any kids and if so, do they visit Santa???

    Merry Christmas to you Kate. I’ve enjoyed being spherical friends this year!

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  10. What a Bad Santa! I was recently watching a Santa at a local mall as he was interacting with the kids. The purchase of pictures didn’t seem to figure in at all. He was so funny and kind. I was also amazed at how brave the kids were… I was terrified of Santa and other dress-up characters (like at Disneyland) when I was little.

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  11. That first Santa was 10 GRINCHES x 2.
    And likely a fan of EBENEZER SCROOGE too.

    I cannot imagine shoving a 4-year-old child away in order to maximize profits from other children in line!

    ACK!!!

    The second Santa is my kind of Santa ~> KINDNESS ECHOES!

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  17. Hi Kate: An interesting story which really highlights where “Christmas” can go if left up to business to dictate the holidays – profiteering, callous disregard to a child’s belief and imagination, and over-spending (and for the wrong reasons)! The Christmas Holidays, a time for joy and celebrations will be followed by disillusionment, regrets, and large debts. Sadly, commerce in general is not going to change, so I sincerely hope that those of us who object to “progress” in this direction, are numerous enough to impact the future. We just have to remember that business is a law of supply and demand. If we take away the demand, the supply will be restrained. Have a wonderful time.

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