AMHERST – He’s found out who’s been naughty or nice and he’s filled his sleigh with all the presents for the good girls and boys. The Amherst Daily News caught up with the busy holiday patriarch to ask him a few questions our newsroom was dying to know.
Q: What is your favourite holiday movie?
A: I like ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’. It’s an older movie and I like the older movies. It has Jimmy Stewart and all them in it, and it has a happy ending. It’s about Christmas.
Q: What are some of the most common questions kids ask you?
A: They usually ask me about leaving carrots for the reindeer and cookies and milk. But they mostly tell me what they’d like for Christmas.
Q: Some children may be a little scared of meeting you for the first time, especially the younger ones. How do you keep them calm?
A: You try to get them to not be scared of you by going, ‘Ho, ho, ho’, and laughing at them. I usually try to give them a candy cane if I can see they’re scared and let them shake the bells.
Q: What do the reindeer do in the off season?
A: They just go around the field eating grass, and getting fat for the summer and then when winter comes, they have to work it all off.
Q: What about reindeer games?
A: Reindeer games are just a myth.
Q: What’s your favourite part about Christmas?
A: The children, I love the children. It’s why I do it. I love seeing their faces light up when they tell you what they want for Christmas. You ask them if they’ve been good and they always smile and say ‘yes’ but the parents usually shake their head ‘no’.
Q: How do you become Santa?
A: You just have to like kids and you have to like Christmas.
Q: What were some of this year’s surprising requests?
A: One wanted lots of horses. I asked them, ‘how am I going to get the horses on the sleigh?’ I’ve had a couple of requests for rocks. Some have lists like you would not believe. They just keep going and going and going until the parents stop them.
Q: Is the ‘naughty and nice’ list just an incentive to have children behave?
A: Yes… they’re all going to get presents and they will ever year. I don’t deliver any coal.
Q: How do you get around the world to all those homes in one night?
A: I have a very fast sled. We use gas powered reindeer, little suits we put on them, and of course, some magic dust. But I can’t tell you all my secrets
Q: Who is Santa Claus’ best friend?
A: Mrs. Claus. I’d be in trouble if I didn’t say that.
Q: Who in the community is on the naughty or nice list?
A: Well, the Mayor has been naughty for spending all that money downtown. The children are all on the nice list.
Q: Who at the news office has been naughty and who has been nice?
A: You’re all on the nice list but Eric (AND reporter) needs a good talking to.
Santa wanted to remind everyone that he will be visiting in six days.
jturner@amherstdaily.com
