tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25767152095422701852024-03-05T13:52:30.528-08:00Magical MomentsMy experiences as a professional magician and sometimes Santa Claus.Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-46410468282008163372022-12-06T20:21:00.004-08:002022-12-07T17:16:24.301-08:00The True Meaning of Christmas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh24lPlDjLVJ79wJHfXW2V5ju7RgMw4xGV8RHrqt3BOHCsmCvjNGD5wW8phJsLlWaqcRHA3MQotR2TPwzfQH-_mBstRNPPV3qApRQJeqPhPNk0Xs0kWcTmeOj42BNYG7S5c1qCgujwRqjF7degsEALAsXzhmfn_JOjhwTyWrc6CsvZV7zwx-sPsuQ/s501/Hand%20with%20Bag.jpg" style="display: inline; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="501" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh24lPlDjLVJ79wJHfXW2V5ju7RgMw4xGV8RHrqt3BOHCsmCvjNGD5wW8phJsLlWaqcRHA3MQotR2TPwzfQH-_mBstRNPPV3qApRQJeqPhPNk0Xs0kWcTmeOj42BNYG7S5c1qCgujwRqjF7degsEALAsXzhmfn_JOjhwTyWrc6CsvZV7zwx-sPsuQ/w400-h288/Hand%20with%20Bag.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>Santa does lots of visits and gives out lots of gifts during
the Christmas holiday, but sometimes I am called on to do special
deliveries. On this night, after
visiting a church group I was asked to deliver a Secret Santa package. My instructions were to say it was from “a
friend” and I was given two phone numbers and asked to text each one that
“Santa was on his way.” I was given a
bag and inside was an envelope (a fairly fat envelope) with an address on it and
a small wrapped present.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">About 10 minutes before I arrived I pulled off the road and
sent the first number the text.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then
about 5 minutes later I pulled over and sent a text to the second number.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first number texted me back, “Who is
this?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I pulled up in front of an older looking house which I could
see was in need of some repairs and a new paint job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knocked on the door and the man who
answered was wearing older worn clothes and beyond him I saw one folding chair
and a woman in a wheelchair in the front room. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Merry Christmas,” I said. “This is from a friend.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I handed him the bag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The man was befuddled and didn’t know what to
say, but managed to say, “Thanks.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I hadn’t gotten very far down the street when I received a
text from the lady that said, “Thank you so much, Santa. You made our Christmas
very merry!”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I sent the text on to the person who had sent me, and they
responded that is why they did it, and I told him that he had found the true
meaning of Christmas.</p><b>It's amazing to be part of the Christmas Spirit!</b><p></p><div><b><br /></b></div>Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-11004214721465117912021-12-10T12:21:00.000-08:002021-12-10T12:21:05.785-08:00<p><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: helvetica;">Christmastime is for Giving</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtJ8DiE8gF60mtISECU91sL2q6YSEgHS3GwKtzp18dte5WzYUyf7EoyZXExh8Bgl4ydhITpNlpxpZGD7O9jVe8z3rEwCbAOjEIZbUzk7NQVeEltn-dJwMm8X_FzMJLp2b3qBYtZjZMaeRJDxzosfsrR5jkCqhfwdW_RrLK0IsX2k47W5tq-ZiCZA=s600" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="367" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtJ8DiE8gF60mtISECU91sL2q6YSEgHS3GwKtzp18dte5WzYUyf7EoyZXExh8Bgl4ydhITpNlpxpZGD7O9jVe8z3rEwCbAOjEIZbUzk7NQVeEltn-dJwMm8X_FzMJLp2b3qBYtZjZMaeRJDxzosfsrR5jkCqhfwdW_RrLK0IsX2k47W5tq-ZiCZA=w167-h274" width="167" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: helvetica;">Santa’s running around town "sleigh" requires gasoline instead of reindeer power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> A couple of nights ago as </span>I was driving home from a party appearance, I noticed a gas station and decided I had better fill up my "sleigh."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: helvetica;">I got out in
full costume and a man shouted, “Hey Santa!” and came running over to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before I could put my card in the gas pump
machine, he stepped in front of me and put his card in and put "prepay $20 on the machine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> As I thanked him, he </span>smiled and said,
“Merry Christmas Santa!” and went <br />back to his truck and drove away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: helvetica;">I smiled to think there was still Christmas
spirit like this in the world today. Anyone can be like Santa - even to Santa. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: #cc0000; font-family: helvetica;">Giving is the spirit of Christmas.</b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-79162263135702576162015-12-21T13:20:00.001-08:002015-12-21T19:33:45.288-08:00God Bless Us, Everyone<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTpH-8-1c5-VCPWaKJKxqMHzm3lVHvomKDJmo-n9vvR0oY-8wkQUdlUJMgMShzAb61B96gPp6hXaO4LcsmNa9bmiUM7Xmgw5R-ZCtuv7E7ZsV1NmcAbuQLTGRahaRk5pytPtYyeqHHg/s1600/1455977_1002279269788709_321111913970937493_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTpH-8-1c5-VCPWaKJKxqMHzm3lVHvomKDJmo-n9vvR0oY-8wkQUdlUJMgMShzAb61B96gPp6hXaO4LcsmNa9bmiUM7Xmgw5R-ZCtuv7E7ZsV1NmcAbuQLTGRahaRk5pytPtYyeqHHg/s320/1455977_1002279269788709_321111913970937493_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recently I was doing a Santa Visit for a local Daycare. I asked the first child what she wanted for Christmas. She said, "Sarah should go first." So Sarah came up and I asked her what she wanted for Christmas. She whispered in my ear, "for my baby brother not to have cancer anymore." I told her, "Santa can't take away the cancer but I will talk to your doctors and see what we can to to help him." She gave me a hug and jumped down. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I asked the next child what he wanted and he whispered, "for Sarah's brother not to have cancer anymore." I repeated the same thing to him that I had said to Sarah. Well the next child came up and I asked her what she wanted and she whispered, "for Sarah's brother not to have cancer anymore." This went on for the whole class of 23 kids. At the end, the teachers were all crying and I was a bit teared up myself. I told the kids that they had found the true meaning of Christmas. It was to care for and love each other.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">As I left the room Tiny Tim's words came to my mind as I thought about the children...</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">"God bless us, everyone!"</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: red;"><br /></span></span>Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-29307390627584871732015-12-19T19:38:00.000-08:002015-12-21T19:39:08.392-08:00Children, the Magic of Christmas<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyteMTirZb16YwCv2I83OxPEgwp-Ih-c2HvUr_0cJmsosVEk2iIIhtyEbGlcOjdH-X3wxHRlDigf4h_obxn83LNThJh-b8R253AmJ0zrQxkJTfdh8BUfCOm3cgHlqJJdcha5cGiQDt9w/s1600/IMG_20151210_1833028341.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyteMTirZb16YwCv2I83OxPEgwp-Ih-c2HvUr_0cJmsosVEk2iIIhtyEbGlcOjdH-X3wxHRlDigf4h_obxn83LNThJh-b8R253AmJ0zrQxkJTfdh8BUfCOm3cgHlqJJdcha5cGiQDt9w/s320/IMG_20151210_1833028341.jpg" width="270" /></a><span style="background: white; color: #cc0000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I was doing a number of appearances at a local
daycare this week. The kids would sing for their families then I would come in,
bells ringing and do a magic trick for them. After this we would do a class
picture, then I would hand out candy canes and wish them a merry Christmas. </span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #cc0000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On
one day as I sat down for the class picture, a younger sister of one of the
kids in the class came up and climbed on my lap. The mom came quickly and got
her. </span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #cc0000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We got ready for the class picture when up she
came again climbing on my lap.</span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She was
determined to talk to SANTA! I asked them to wait for a minute and I
asked her what she wanted for Christmas. She happily told me she wanted a
Disney Dolly. She gave me a hug and returned to her seat (to a loud
"awwwww" from the crowd.)</span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #cc0000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Children
are the true Magic of Christmas.</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-89098570101375626982015-12-18T11:29:00.001-08:002015-12-21T19:50:57.025-08:00My "Scott Calvin" Moment<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVN960NYq0ieTHWFRMMs1Gp4ArLHuScIw91JFqpPOS1N_eTdWYj6bWDjR9IqTWA2YV0mNbcaji9N-lbATYPIqQ9VA8VDMdlDyTqJYfLhyphenhyphen-y6eJvDdYw6GZjmrcM8-oi8i51ti5370u3g/s1600/the-santa-clause-tim-allen.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVN960NYq0ieTHWFRMMs1Gp4ArLHuScIw91JFqpPOS1N_eTdWYj6bWDjR9IqTWA2YV0mNbcaji9N-lbATYPIqQ9VA8VDMdlDyTqJYfLhyphenhyphen-y6eJvDdYw6GZjmrcM8-oi8i51ti5370u3g/s320/the-santa-clause-tim-allen.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "segoe ui" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif;">One of my favorite Christmas movies is Disney's "The Santa Clause." And recently I had my own Scott Calvin moment:</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica neue, segoe ui, helvetica, arial, lucida grande, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "segoe ui" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif;">Children Know...</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "segoe ui" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif;">I was walking into a store in my plain clothes to do a little Christmas shopping. Now I do not grow a beard or moustache to be Santa since I am a full time magical performer the rest of the year. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "segoe ui" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "segoe ui" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif;">Well a little boy came running up to me yelling "Santa, Santa!" He hugged my leg and called me Santa. His mom quickly came up and got him. "I am sorry! He said you had a Santa belly so he thought you were him." I laughed and told her it was all right. I then asked him if he had been a good boy. He said he had. I told him that I knew Santa and would let him know.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "segoe ui" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: helvetica neue, segoe ui, helvetica, arial, lucida grande, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000;"><b>Even when I'm not dressed as Santa, I'm still Santa!</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica neue, segoe ui, helvetica, arial, lucida grande, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-24763397742232326642015-12-18T11:15:00.000-08:002015-12-21T19:32:05.705-08:00Santa is Your Friend<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK9VpFI6GGt4QVnE2v9O_6Tmo-BgyDVzbcyU5xlM_-1L1Pzf_nxBENw8aPtLnsJYKi0dbHavZRn7FcRe8LSL2h3-qKZQt5I_T9v0Am7Ut8iPa5SBBezx39hFyv-IdP3GzjabA6nmioXA/s1600/logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK9VpFI6GGt4QVnE2v9O_6Tmo-BgyDVzbcyU5xlM_-1L1Pzf_nxBENw8aPtLnsJYKi0dbHavZRn7FcRe8LSL2h3-qKZQt5I_T9v0Am7Ut8iPa5SBBezx39hFyv-IdP3GzjabA6nmioXA/s400/logo.png" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: red;">I had the opportunity to be Santa for a local library today. I was sitting there with children and families coming by telling me what they wanted for Christmas and posing for pictures. I had a young teenage girl come up. She was staring at her feet. Her mother was smiling and talking brightly to her. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: red;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: red;">She sat on my lap and let her mom and take her picture. Then I asked her what she wanted for Christmas. She stared at the floor and I heard a sniffle. As a tear fell and hit my boot she quietly said "to go with you to the North Pole." A little startled and concerned, I asked her why. She responded, "because people are nice there." I lifted her chin and told her I was sorry, but no human had ever been there. She sniffle and said "OK." I quickly told her, "Remember that Mrs. Claus and I love you and we will always be your friends." To this she started to sob and placed her head on my shoulder.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: red;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: red;">She cried for about a minute and the library helper and her mother came forward to get her. I raised my hand to stop them. After a bit she stopped and said, "thanks Santa." I told her again that Santa loved her and she left with a smile on her face. I never found out what had bothered her so much, but she seemed to appreciate me telling her that I loved her which touched my heart.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Santa is a friend to everyone.</span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></span></span>Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-31236709389354298232015-12-16T21:55:00.000-08:002015-12-21T19:29:16.946-08:00My "Miracle on 34th Street" Moment<div class="MsoNormal">
I was appearing as Santa at a party for a company that I've performed
at for the last 5 years. I was sitting
there as usual having the kids come tell me what they want for Christmas and
posing for pictures, when out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a young lady
in her 20's who came acting very excited to see me. She stood there talking with her co-workers
and excitedly pointing at me. Finally,
when there was a lull in the crowd she eagerly she came and sat on my
knee. I asked her what she wanted for
Christmas and I could tell by her accent that she was not from America. So I
asked her where she was from originally and she said she was from Austria.</div>
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Well, my second language just so happens to be German, so I
started to speak to her in her native language much to her surprise! She quickly responded back to me in kind that
she didn't know I spoke German and I responded that of course Santa knows
German. With a big grin and a sparkly
tear in her eye, she told me that what she wanted most for Christmas was to go
back to Austria to visit. I didn't
exactly know how I could respond to that request, so instead I asked her what
her favorite memory was of Christmas back home in Austria. She got a faraway look in her eyes and told
me how she used to love to sing Christmas songs as a child.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizp1du163r9RKL3HbLmEl-MZn8X7HCyG0FvztYtPf3OBOabYhe4DkngQ3yD7uVNZe5RNdxF_dmwz829aBvWCWfROQjuSsidrIggUqZAyWuiryq8hVHsqp8ReQgmNfWs6n9aOsV9UYP0Q/s1600/Miracle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizp1du163r9RKL3HbLmEl-MZn8X7HCyG0FvztYtPf3OBOabYhe4DkngQ3yD7uVNZe5RNdxF_dmwz829aBvWCWfROQjuSsidrIggUqZAyWuiryq8hVHsqp8ReQgmNfWs6n9aOsV9UYP0Q/s320/Miracle.jpg" width="320" /></a>Without hardly thinking, I started to sing, "Kling,
Gretchen, Kling" (one of the Christmas songs that I knew that German speaking
children sang). She immediately joined me and we sang the song together. When
we finished, she smiled, clapped her hands and gave me a big hug. She said that besides going back to Austria,
I had just given her the best Christmas gift she could have gotten. </div>
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As she walked away, I thought of the scene in the movie,
"A Miracle on 34th Street" where Kris Kringle is able to speak to the
little Dutch girl and then they sing a Christmas song together in Dutch. I chuckled to myself.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Sometimes being Santa is serendipitous!</span></b><br />
<br />Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-91385858084335299632015-12-05T15:38:00.000-08:002015-12-16T21:59:54.887-08:00Santa is the Good Guy<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCBdgOjBUSCm9dwpJl8s1Ogkawk1iFbPYzo3zQad3FCPLxBWbfyJ2eY-AElPMfb6pO8r8KNyikykzgCwSFkPmba0fZK5zq1SskVGbDr2X8Obl6oI9fKHcHD9ILRRU9HpNr1B1XdymJXA/s1600/Santa+12-5-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCBdgOjBUSCm9dwpJl8s1Ogkawk1iFbPYzo3zQad3FCPLxBWbfyJ2eY-AElPMfb6pO8r8KNyikykzgCwSFkPmba0fZK5zq1SskVGbDr2X8Obl6oI9fKHcHD9ILRRU9HpNr1B1XdymJXA/s400/Santa+12-5-15.jpg" width="315" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Today I was
Santa Claus </span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">and
I made a toddler cry.... Well no, not really - his parents did. I was Santa for </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;">Oakwood Homes in their model home open house. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Benjamin came in with
his family to visit Santa, and he walked right up to me and indicated that he wanted
up. I picked up this 2 year old little boy and sat him on my knee, and he just
sat there. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Not a word did he speak, he
just sat there on my lap, happy as you please. No one else was waiting to see
me at the moment, so I did not put him down. I tried to talk to him, but he didn’t respond.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So we just sat there together.</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Then the meanest person in the whole world
came into the room to remove him from where he was so happy - His Mom! Oh what screaming and wailing as she took him
off my knee. “Snnnaanta help!” was his cry. Off they went, Benjamin still screaming and
reaching out for me, “Snnaanta help!” Well it
finally became quiet, when suddenly from the other room my little friend came
running in and LEAPED into my arms. Not one
word did he speak, he just sat there, happy and contented. Then a co-conspirator
in the meanness came in and ripped him away from his Snnaanta - his Dad. The screaming started all over again, but this time, to
Santa’s sadness, my little friend was dragged out of the house for good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #cc0000; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>It’s fun to be the good guy!</b></span><br />
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Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-48363266943354103522015-11-28T12:45:00.001-08:002015-12-16T22:00:17.681-08:00The Real Santa!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today I went to a local library as Santa Claus to greet the
children there. Many of the children
told me what they wanted for Christmas including Anna and Elsa dolls, legos and remote controlled
trucks among other things. </div>
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Some of them asked me very direct questions, such as is Rudolph real and does his nose really glow and why. I told them Rudolph was indeed real, and asked if they had ever watched those shows about those deep sea fish that glowed in the dark deep or the one with the dangling glowing thing like in "Finding Nemo". I explained they were real and glowed because of a good bacteria that caused the glow, and that is just why Rudolph's nose glows. They were satisfied.</div>
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But one of the children sat on
my knee and looked up at me with bright piercing blue eyes and said, “Santa, I know
that you can’t be everywhere at once so you have lots of helpers. Last year I saw one of your helpers, and he
was pretty good. But it’s so nice to have the real Santa here this year!” My eyes started to get a little misty and I reached down
and gave her a big hug. Afterward her
mother came up to me, and with tears in her eyes said, “you don’t know how much that
means to her, because all she has talked about this year is that she was going
to see Santa’s helper and that she would never see the real Santa.” She was so
pleased that her daughter knew that she had finally seen the real Santa!</div>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Being Santa is a big responsibility!</span></b><br />
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Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-13913111112517380212014-12-10T19:14:00.001-08:002015-12-16T22:00:50.031-08:00A Prayer With Santa<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I was at a Challenger
School doing one of three days worth of Santa appearances there. As I walked in, beside the Secretary's desk was
a sickroom and I looked in and saw a little girl laying on the bed. I was in full Santa garb so when she saw me
she waved, and Santa’s heart (as always around children) melted. I went to her and pulling a candy cane out of
my belt asked her what was wrong, to which she replied, “I'm not feeling too
well today. My stomach is sick.” </span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I
thought I'd take this moment to take her mind off of her pain and ask her what
she wanted for Christmas. She told me
the usual – dollies, Barbies, etc. I was
getting ready to leave when she said, “Santa I would feel a lot better if you
would say a prayer with me.” I told her
I would be happy to hear one from her. So
she closed her eyes and bowed her head and she offered up a heartfelt prayer which
could only could come from a sick little girl. In it she said, “Heavenly Father, I'm not
feeling well right now. But Santa came to visit me and I know that because
Santa is here and praying with me, that I will feel better. Please help me to feel better. Amen.” A sweet spirit filled the room as she finished
her prayer. </span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I wished her a Merry
Christmas and as I got up to leave I handed her a candy cane. She laid back and looking at her mom who was
in the room with her said, “I will be okay now because Santa came and said a
prayer with me.” I don't know whose eyes
were more moist, the mother’s or mine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #cc0000; font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Sometimes being Santa brings amazing moments.</b></span></div>
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Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-26525643511178874092014-12-06T14:09:00.001-08:002015-12-16T22:02:09.562-08:00Sometimes Santa Needs a Hand<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">This morning I had a GREAT Santa visit at the Sandy Library. The children were great! Lots of kids and even several parents got their pictures taken with me. I had finished and was on my way out to my car when my head Elf told me she had locked the keys in the car. I did not have a spare. I laughed as she called a locksmith to help us out, or I should say to help us <u><i>in</i></u> to the car. Well I now had a choice (as a 6'6" Santa does stick out a bit), I could either try to hide while we waited, or I could just sit out in front of the library on a bench and make the best of it. Well, I didn't <i>really </i>have much choice as several children spotted me and ran over to visit with me, so I settled for the bench idea. About 20 children came and we took pictures and they told me what they wanted for Christmas. Finally the locksmith from Wally's Lock & Key came. My Elf had not told him I was Santa, so he and his wife got a kick out of unlocking "Santa's Sleigh."</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Thank goodness for those who can help Santa.</span></b><span style="color: #141823;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><i>Thanks Wally & Mrs. Wally!</i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-9094234141466033382014-12-06T13:38:00.004-08:002015-12-21T19:45:42.619-08:00Fantasy is FunBeing Santa Claus and having children sit on your lap, you get asked for some fun things. Last night at the daycare "Kids, Etc." one of my favorite requests was from a little boy who said (really fast and blended all his words together) "teenagemutantninjaturtles." When I asked him which one, Donatello or Michelangelo or ... he emphatically replied "THE GREEN ONE!"<br />
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My second favorite response was from a little girl who she wanted a fairy. I asked which one and she said "Tinkerbell, of course, 'cause she's the boss." I told her I would see what I could do. Then I said that I was stopping by Disneyland on my way back to the North Pole, and so I could say 'Hi' to Tinkerbell for her. With a loud squeal and a thank you she jumped up, gave me a hug, and ran off to get a candy cane.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Santa's fantasy world is awesome!</span></b><br />
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<i> Which "green one" do you think he wants???</i></div>
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Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-76287203638203288932014-12-05T20:00:00.000-08:002015-12-16T22:02:50.065-08:00Comfort and Joy<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Tonight was my first Santa Claus appearance of this year! I was on my way up to a show when I saw flashing lights up ahead. After several minutes in the slow traffic, I saw it was an accident. As I came up on the scene, I noticed that a mother and her young daughter were sitting on the side of the road, and of course I focused on the young girl who looked obviously shaken. Being filled with the Santa Claus spirit, I pulled over in the parking lot behind the accident. All I had on me was a candy cane. I rang my bells and that little girl's eyes lit right up! When she saw me she ran right to me and gave me a big hug. I asked if she was okay and she said she was, but her mom's new car wasn't. I asked her what she wanted for Christmas and gave her the candy cane. I told her I had to get back to the North Pole and gave her another hug before getting back in my car. </span><br />
<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-63168628764745346702013-12-19T20:59:00.000-08:002015-12-16T22:03:12.178-08:00Hugs for SantaSanta's main job is to have children sit on his lap and ask what they want for Christmas. When children are brought to me, there are many different reactions. Some are so excited to see me that they bounce around and jump and wiggle. Others are nonchalant like it is routine for them (but who visits Santa every day?). Others are shy and timid and take quite a bit of coaxing. And then there are the screamers! I have to hold onto them like they are on a bucking bronco.<br />
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Last night while I was at a daycare center, I had one of my favorite kinds of reactions from a child. This little boy came up to me and waited for me to pick him up and set him on my knee and he just snuggled back into my arm and kind of melted into me. He seemed very contented and happy to be there. After a picture was taken, I asked what he wanted for Christmas. Smiling, he looked at me and said, "Oh, whatever, Santa." So I started making some suggestions of certain toys and books, but he said he knew that I would bring him just the right thing.<br />
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I wished him Merry Christmas and was about to put him down and he squished closer in to me. His mother came forward to take him, but he raised his hand to stop her and said that he didn't need to leave because Santa was his friend. I signaled to his mom that it was okay and I looked down at him. He looked up at me with his sparkling eyes and a big grin and said, "We're friends, right Santa?" To which I agreed.<br />
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He sat with me for a minute, stroked my beard and then gave me a big hug, the kind of hug that melts you to your heart. He told me he loved me, then hopped down and waved goodbye.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Santa loves being loved!</span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-4863184200926197582013-12-14T21:33:00.000-08:002015-12-16T22:03:32.426-08:00Santa's Happy AccidentSaturdays in December are my busiest days with several appearances scheduled. There was a family in Saratoga Springs that I have previously done two magic shows for, but this year they wanted a Santa visit. The appearance was scheduled for 4:00 p.m. As usual I arrived about 5 minutes before so they could get me the gifts that I was to hand out. I called just as I arrived to let him know I was out front, and his voice was a bit anxious. He thought he had schedule me for 4:30 p.m. I told him that was not a problem, that I would be back in a half hour. Then I drove to a nearby street that had a field on one side and a house on the other that said, "Foreclosure/For Sale by Bank" on the other, so I thought I would be safe from people seeing me in my Santa attire.<br />
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As I sat there with my eyes closed listening to Christmas music, I had the distinct feeling that I was being watched. I turned and looked at the "vacant" house only to see three little noses pressed against the glass door. Doing what any respectable Santa would do, I quickly drove off. But when my mind caught up with my car, I thought how awful it might be for those children to see Santa look at them then drive quickly away.</div>
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So I opened my stash of candy canes (every respectable Santa has one) grabbed a handful and headed back to the house. When I pulled up to the curb, I saw a woman out front looking around. I got out and asked if she was the mother here, to which she replied, "Are you the Santa my kids saw?"</div>
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I explained that I had a few minutes before my next appointment and asked if I could come and visit with her and her children. She invited me right in. I was greeted by three bouncing girls. I noticed the meager belongings in the home and the disheveled appearance of the children. The mother told the oldest to go get Jonny. A few moments later she came back with a young boy using forearm crutches. I sat down and helped him onto my knee and asked what he wanted for Christmas. He look up at me with tearful eyes and said he wanted to be able to keep their house. I smiled and told him that I didn't think I could do that, but I would make sure he knew how much his family cared for him. I told him that was the true spirit of Christmas.</div>
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He got down and one of his sisters climbed up and asked for a new shirt she could wear to school and a dolly. Then each of the other two girls took a turn, one asked for warm shoes and the littlest also wanted a dolly. At that moment I wished I had the magic to open my bag and produce the gifts they had asked for and looked like they needed, but all I had to give them were candy canes. I handed them each one then watched as they each hung them on their sparsely decorated tree. I wished them a Merry Christmas as I left.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-QbYyuZ2YP0QkF-NTMelNt7uwDLcBOrkM6_hwYDNVfZSyCI_mMLLFHfd-qBebZEW6Ms_rYDL9w9JUCZxO2qmpztCnDCV-6ebjCN42AGIDMlpJFjtTTUbuxj-A2bX5DgAselK6GKTZw/s1600/decorating-xmas-tree-candy-canes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-QbYyuZ2YP0QkF-NTMelNt7uwDLcBOrkM6_hwYDNVfZSyCI_mMLLFHfd-qBebZEW6Ms_rYDL9w9JUCZxO2qmpztCnDCV-6ebjCN42AGIDMlpJFjtTTUbuxj-A2bX5DgAselK6GKTZw/s400/decorating-xmas-tree-candy-canes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I was grateful for the accident of my mixed up schedule which allowed me this opportunity to bring a little Christmas cheer into a difficult situation.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Being Santa brings sweet rewards!</span></b></div>
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Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-58715308712886437652013-12-12T22:38:00.000-08:002015-12-16T22:05:45.368-08:00Santa at Kneaders<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8Q-QvdsrnY3_IuUBZa4_YhIHJ-6RTf2hAEpTLpe-z_tTo0EL2u3gC_WfzyRo2DxOM4-y_g5t5LSMmUIlGrDoRi4AIu3q9K6RlHYUxTikb_hhbmGsVLRFXkXgNeb037k39up9Gu4mmA/s1600/Kneaders+Santa.jpeg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8Q-QvdsrnY3_IuUBZa4_YhIHJ-6RTf2hAEpTLpe-z_tTo0EL2u3gC_WfzyRo2DxOM4-y_g5t5LSMmUIlGrDoRi4AIu3q9K6RlHYUxTikb_hhbmGsVLRFXkXgNeb037k39up9Gu4mmA/s320/Kneaders+Santa.jpeg.jpg" width="205" /></a>I had the opportunity to be Santa for Kneaders located in Orem for their "French Toast with Santa" event. They had a section in the main dining room blocked off for people to visit with me and enjoy their specialty french toast. Children would come tell me what they wanted, pose for pictures, and occasionally we would sing Christmas carols. Things were going along normally.<br />
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As things were winding down at the end of the night, an elderly woman came up and shook my hand. I gently tugged on her hand and encouraged her to sit on my knee and said, "Tell Santa what you want for Christmas."<br />
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Her eyes lit up and she said, "Why don't you tell me what I want for Christmas?"<br />
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Smiling, I said, "You want all of your children and grandchildren to be healthy and happy and to have a wonderful holiday season." Then with a wink I added, "And that one special thing that you want for yourself, I'll try to get it under your tree this year."<br />
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She threw her arms around me and gave me a tight squeeze. "You're the best Santa we've ever had! You've made me believe in Santa again."<br />
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As she left the area, the gentleman who had been standing with her leaned down and asked me if I knew who she was, and I told him that I didn't. He said that she was the owner of Kneaders!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Being Santa is NEVER normal!</span></b><br />
<br />Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-16948551309568373712013-12-10T20:33:00.000-08:002015-12-16T22:07:27.796-08:00My New Special Friend<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLFZhDHBzg4nYZ3M6DSweQEIMap7VnCXYy650hReGgTNOevqqFPXNQjoMbxrTfLnZB8GMjoQZcD6_fIYhJoKeLo63z7acAGOqLurcK6O6TeB7A-Ot5HptMaGyyjRiSRrZd7Uq5OuEBgA/s1600/Strap+of+bells.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLFZhDHBzg4nYZ3M6DSweQEIMap7VnCXYy650hReGgTNOevqqFPXNQjoMbxrTfLnZB8GMjoQZcD6_fIYhJoKeLo63z7acAGOqLurcK6O6TeB7A-Ot5HptMaGyyjRiSRrZd7Uq5OuEBgA/s1600/Strap+of+bells.jpg" width="205" /></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tonight I was Santa at the Sandy Library. I had finished with my usual visits and was heading
to my car when a little child stood in the doorway of the library, surprised to
see me. I could see that he was nervous
and didn’t want to talk to me. He was
coming into the library with a book in his hand which I noticed was <i>The Polar Express</i>. I commented that it was one of Santa’s favorite
books. Hearing this, he lit right up and
started talking to me about his favorite parts of the story. He kept coming back to the part where the boy
gets the first gift of Christmas which was a jingle bell.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now being Santa, I make sure that I jingle when I walk so
everyone can hear me coming. I have a
strap of bells that I carry with me, and suddenly had a great idea for my new little
friend. I took the strap and pulled off
one of the bells and handed it to him.
His eyes welled up with tears and he threw his arms around me and said, “Santa,
you are my special friend, ‘cause Santa only gives a bell to his special
friends.” I look up to see that his
mother and father were also teary eyed which got to me and I started to get
emotional myself. I managed to choke
out, “Yes you are my special friend.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That strap of bells only cost me about three dollars, but at that moment </span><b style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">being Santa was priceless!</span></b></div>
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Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-25237865652581485852013-12-05T22:13:00.000-08:002015-12-16T22:07:54.596-08:00Santa Magic<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Winder Dairy has me being their Santa every Thursday night from 6-8 p.m. until Christmas. I get to meet a lot of fun people who tell me what they want for Christmas. Most memorable on my last visit were those who could not speak.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs5eW_nKcE7G2dAx_MWYu5sLC27lWWOgbQCD6-Fg5fwweBmQUulomWK367oOn7WuKDYgjfaXfWeORxvX7M0Qwej2VO5PI7lg7-gbfybCCI3J974B0VsGMcqEj4L66OnaIiVLCR5P2tlg/s1600/Santa+magic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs5eW_nKcE7G2dAx_MWYu5sLC27lWWOgbQCD6-Fg5fwweBmQUulomWK367oOn7WuKDYgjfaXfWeORxvX7M0Qwej2VO5PI7lg7-gbfybCCI3J974B0VsGMcqEj4L66OnaIiVLCR5P2tlg/s1600/Santa+magic.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Three girls came in with two mentally disabled people, a man and a woman. First the woman came up and stood beside me. As always, I asked what she wanted for Christmas, but got no reply. One of her companions explained to me that the woman could not communicate. I stood up and took her hands and looked into her eyes and saw a spark of recognition for </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Santa. I asked her companion what she liked to do and she told me she liked books. Looking back into her eyes I asked the woman if she wanted Santa to bring her some books for Christmas. Her eyes widened and she squoze my hand. Figuring that I was on the right track, I asked her some different types of books. When I mentioned Disney books, her eyes widened again and she squoze my hands a</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">gain. I then asked about Disney princess books, and she squoze even tighter. I smiled and sat down and looked at her companion and said, "It looks like she would like some Disney princess books for Christmas."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Her companion's mouth fell open in amazement and she said, "How did you do that?" I smiled and winked and said, "Santa magic!"</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Being Santa is magical!</b></span></div>
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Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-42576414212120458482012-12-18T22:42:00.002-08:002015-12-16T22:04:08.901-08:00Santa's Not a DoctorTonight as Santa at a library, I met a very sad little girl. She came up to visit with me and I saw that she had a brand new bright yellow cast from her wrist all the way up her arm. I carefully lifted her up to my knee and asked her what had happened. Her eyes welled up with tears as she told me how she had fallen down the stairs and had broken her arm just before Christmas, and how much it hurt.<br />
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I told her how sorry I was that this had happened, and that Santa couldn't fix her arm. But I told her I would bring her something special on Christmas morning that would make her happy. I asked if there was anything else I could do for her, and she lowered her head for a moment the looked up into my eyes and said quickly, "I know!"<br />
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She carefully got down off my knee and walked away. I continued visiting with the other children in line and having pictures taken. After a while, I saw the little girl with the cast at the back of the line. When it was finally her turn again, she marched up to me and handed me a sharpie marker. She held up her cast and pointed to a specific spot and said, "Here, this will make it feel better." So I was the first person to sign her cast - I signed "Santa" and "Ho, ho, ho."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeHN7_9e1nyNriIAYAxWFIySEMtbiaKEOS_sYqj_jT9bkop5sLfgJGZ2LmbengT5vh0dJI8BqbuvTXXfCQyzMlvb8ciOcHxPC29EpXaN5rjdq5FNuDZmeqia6Tc4UQL6YVHf1ev7BYmQ/s1600/santaclaus_signature.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="74" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeHN7_9e1nyNriIAYAxWFIySEMtbiaKEOS_sYqj_jT9bkop5sLfgJGZ2LmbengT5vh0dJI8BqbuvTXXfCQyzMlvb8ciOcHxPC29EpXaN5rjdq5FNuDZmeqia6Tc4UQL6YVHf1ev7BYmQ/s320/santaclaus_signature.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Satisfied, she smiled and gave me the biggest one armed hug I have ever received. She went over to show her mother, saying, "See, he signed it with a ho, ho, ho." I was delighted to help replace a tear with a smile on a little girl's face.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Santa may not be able to mend broken bones, but it's great when I can help lift a little child's spirits.</span></b><br />
<br />Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-55187183435352761442012-12-14T21:20:00.000-08:002015-12-16T22:04:35.718-08:00A Gift for SantaSometimes it's better to receive than to give. Yes, I said what I meant. <br />
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It is very important as Santa Claus to have fresh breath. I usually have small mints with me at all times for just that reason. Tonight as I was getting out a mint before my Santa appearance, I spilled them all over the parking lot - all but one small mint, thankfully.<br />
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On my way home after the party, I decided to stop at a 7-11 to pick up some more mints (besides I have a blast showing up unexpectedly in my Santa garb - I love the looks I get and the excitement of the surprised people around me, especially children). I parked and reached for my wallet, then remembered that I had forgotten it at home. I checked the payment I had just received for my Santa appearance, and the smallest bill was a $50.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCF_zXj9LkEo1JoQ8UViAIb14KS9UpKrbSPzkJ1MrAxQJo79OpdIOR09H9TnuGcWR__J-ljaMdQxsBvtY5_lknLav2NAurZW-rgMdsg-iWpDbSyIW7LbPtpwAMLOIwACquPdAVnvSGAA/s1600/mints1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCF_zXj9LkEo1JoQ8UViAIb14KS9UpKrbSPzkJ1MrAxQJo79OpdIOR09H9TnuGcWR__J-ljaMdQxsBvtY5_lknLav2NAurZW-rgMdsg-iWpDbSyIW7LbPtpwAMLOIwACquPdAVnvSGAA/s320/mints1.jpg" width="320" /></a>I went in and grabbed 3 boxes of mini mints and went up to pay. When it was my turn, the clerk rang it up and told me it was $6, and I handed him my $50. His face fell, and he told me that a previous customer had paid with a $100 bill which cleaned him out of his small change. I smiled and said, "never mind." He smiled and said he hoped that wouldn't put him on the naughty list.<br />
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I turned to put the mints back when I felt a hand on my shoulder and heard a voice behind me say, "Just a minute Santa." Then a very kind man put $6 plus tax on the counter and said the mints were on him. I was about to tell him not to worry about it, but then a little voice inside my head said, "it's better to give than to receive," and I realized that this man was feeling the Christmas Spirit of giving by buying Santa some mints. Then I decided that I needed to be gracious and accept this gift. So I thanked him heartily and wished him a Merry Christmas.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Sometimes even Santa can receive.</span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-69007576684848573582012-12-13T21:40:00.001-08:002015-12-16T22:04:56.699-08:00The True Spirit of Christmas<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU9YWd60KX02dZuN8Prrm8JLyU-0xfv7rdb-OtPfcLcCo4uaagYvEJqMccQWRg7eUVuJ3dZG_uvwB0gnrnFev8jojHIEcxn7henksEVGD0lo5Ur2N1rsMu-gZpdc7TYT-j34-3Z8ivXQ/s1600/Santa+gifts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU9YWd60KX02dZuN8Prrm8JLyU-0xfv7rdb-OtPfcLcCo4uaagYvEJqMccQWRg7eUVuJ3dZG_uvwB0gnrnFev8jojHIEcxn7henksEVGD0lo5Ur2N1rsMu-gZpdc7TYT-j34-3Z8ivXQ/s320/Santa+gifts.jpg" width="320" /></a>Being Santa Claus, sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the commercialism of Christmas. I watch the toy ads so I know what the children are talking about when they ask for the newest and latest for Christmas.<br />
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Tonight I was Winder Dairy's Santa again (every Thursday 'til Christmas), and something happened to remind me of the true spirit of Christmas.<br />
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For most of the night I had been discussing dolls and ipods and legos and was thinking about all the cool gadgets children had wished for, when a young man in a wheelchair came into the room pushed by his sister because he couldn't push himself.<br />
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They went to a table near me where his mother fed him a scone and helped him drink. He looked over and waved at me with one of his twisted arms, and I smiled and waved back with a hearty "Ho, Ho, Ho!"<br />
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Just before my time there was over, his mother brought him over in his wheelchair and backed it as close to my chair as she could so she could take a picture. I leaned over and smiled as our picture was taken. Then his mom moved his chair around so we were face to face and he could talk to me. I realized that though his body was twisted and disabled, his mind was sharp and he could communicate just fine.<br />
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I asked the boy what he wanted for Christmas, half expecting something like a new wheelchair or even to be able to walk. I was not prepared at all for his answer. He looked up at me and said he didn't need anything, he was happy and had everything he needed. What he wanted was for me to give his gifts to those in need. In disbelief, I asked again if there wasn't something that he would like. Again he just asked me to give something to those who really needed it.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">It's humbling to be Santa.</span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-27900505972597535682012-12-12T21:39:00.000-08:002015-12-16T22:05:18.046-08:00Storytime with SantaToday I was Santa for West Valley Library. They had a very nice chair and backdrop in a room where they let one child or family in at a time to see me. After I had visited with several children, they opened the door and a little boy ran in and climbed into my lap and snuggled right up against me. I asked what he wanted for Christmas, but he didn't say anything. I talked to him a little bit, and to his mom and she told me what he wanted while he just snuggled. <br />
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Later, when there were no more children to visit with, my little friend came running back into the room with a book in hand. He hopped up on my lap and handed me the book and looked up at me obviously waiting for me to start reading, so I did. When I was finished, he took the book, jumped down and ran back out of the room.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9xtM8nuvv5ao0IRPoLpuAym2TvOPaQovkT8BBQjM5UfHZmKRrHGOvz_WVJjoHeVjYH1027N1dVN7LIDb1ixRpdO446eK6BuRUqVaQmINTzczag4QuvGjTPKzlnmXhZ-D0CABQK5opPA/s1600/santa_reading.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9xtM8nuvv5ao0IRPoLpuAym2TvOPaQovkT8BBQjM5UfHZmKRrHGOvz_WVJjoHeVjYH1027N1dVN7LIDb1ixRpdO446eK6BuRUqVaQmINTzczag4QuvGjTPKzlnmXhZ-D0CABQK5opPA/s320/santa_reading.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Just a minute later his mother came into the room and asked me if I had seen him. Before I could even tell her what happened, he came running back into the room with another book and climbed back up on my knee. So I started reading another book to him.<br />
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The mother though it was so adorable that her son was getting a story read to him by Santa Claus, she stood transfixed. I took the opportunity to mention to her she might want to get her camera as this was a perfect photo op. She snapped out of it, grabbed her camera and took a bunch of pictures as I read the second book.<br />
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He got a third book which I also read, then tried to get another, but his mother intervened and took my little friend home, much to his displeasure. By the way, he had great taste in books - they were all Christmas stories.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">It's fun being Santa!</span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-58447392641235478512012-12-08T20:41:00.000-08:002015-12-16T22:06:22.142-08:00Santa Can be OverwhelmingBeing Santa, I am able to be part of many different events at many venues. I've been Santa at Libraries, Day Care Centers, office parties, and many private and family parties. But the one I enjoy the most is when I get to be Santa for my own church Christmas party.<br />
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I was a little bit concerned that the children in the ward would recognize my voice and figure out who I was. One of the young girls, after sitting on my lap said, "Santa, you sound like Brother White." I told her that I knew him and that I had brought him some of his magic tricks for Christmas over the years, then quickly diverted her attention to what she wanted me to bring her this year.<br />
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One of the highlights of the evening was when I heard a squeal from the doorway. When I looked over, I saw a little girl I recognized who was jumping up and down, she was so excited. Her parents had to restrain her so she didn't push past other children to get to me. While they were waiting, she bounced with excitement and recited her wish list to anyone who would listen. When it was her turn, she ran up and jumped on my knee and told me me to look at her mom who was going to take a picture of us. After the picture, I asked her what she wanted for Christmas, and as sometimes happens, she stared at me and said nothing. She had gone completely blank, and it took her mother reminding her of a couple of items to snap her out of it and then she rattled her list of for at least a whole minute.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Sometimes its "awe"-some being Santa!</span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-78082641766143877082012-12-07T22:28:00.000-08:002015-12-16T22:08:44.124-08:00Santa for Winder DairyLast night was my opportunity to be Santa for Winder Country Farms (formerly Winder Dairy). This is something I did last year and they asked me to come back again this year. I will be there each Thursday night from 6 to 8 p.m. People can bring their kids to visit me and can take pictures.<br />
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It's kind of funny that I have become Winder Dairy's Santa, because I used to work for them many years ago as a milkman. The new generation of Winders don't know that though.<br />
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Winder Country Farms has a store where they sell their milk and other dairy products - and the best eggnog this Santa has ever tasted. They also sell breads, and right now they sell hot cocoa and freshly made scones among other treats. I was surprised at the traffic for this little out of the way specialty store, but there was an almost constant flow of visitors.<br />
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I was surprised when some of my family started to arrive. Two of my sister's-in-law brought their babies to see "Santa" for the first time. My little nephew was thrilled to visit with me and soon took possession of me - I was HIS Santa and he didn't really want to let any other kids sit on my knee. He did though, but came back three more times. My brother said that all night and the next day all he would talk about was HIS Santa.<br />
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My daughter and my niece also came to visit and my niece brought her new "baby" to visit with Santa. That's the first time I have had my picture taken with a puppy!<br />
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My mother also visited and I got her to sit with me for a picture. She is delighted to be the "mother of Santa."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">It's great to be Santa for your own family!</span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576715209542270185.post-76067774328202513442012-12-04T21:15:00.000-08:002015-12-16T22:09:03.720-08:00Santa for Magna LibraryThe Librarian at Magna Library had put a long curving line of tape on the floor for people to follow and wait in to see Santa. It kind of reminded me of the queue lines at Disneyland. Everyone was very cooperative and orderly. In the 45 minutes that I was there, about 100 children came through the line and sat on my knee. There were only a few that were frightened, but I got them intrigued by ringing my bells and letting them hold and shake them. Works every time!<br />
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The most common requests for Christmas from the kids that visited me tonight were iPod Touches and Xbox 360s. There were also a lot of lap top computer requests.<br />
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The highlight of the night was close to the end of the line, when a child had just jumped down off my knee and this little 4 year old girl was told it was her turn. She sprinted towards me launching herself into the air flying towards me and landing in my lap flinging her arms around my neck. Good thing she was such a little thing or she could have knocked me right over! She repeated over and over, "You came, you came, you came!" To which I replied, "I've been waiting for you to come see me." She replied matter-of-factly, "I know." She hugged me tightly for a full minute - I couldn't have pried her off with a crowbar.</div>
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Finally she sat on my knee, swinging her legs and said, "You got my list, right?" I told her of course I did, but asked her to remind me what was on it. But all she would say was, "just the stuff on the list." She gave me a quick hug then jumped down, grabbed her candy cane and disappeared into another part of the library.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">It's good to be Santa!</span></b></div>
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Anthony Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841368491547363558noreply@blogger.com0