Our Story

This past Saturday I found some books at a thrift store. Not only did we discover some volumes of the Great Illustrated Classics (which my 8-year-old has already began devouring), but also a lovely red leather-bound quote book titled “Richard Evan’s Quote Book” from 1971.

I'm trying to read more of the "classics" and learn more quotes as part of my ongoing journey to educate myself. My American curriculum was devoid of Dickens, Irving, Twain, Hemmingway, and Austin and instead focused on The Hunger Games (replacing Romeo and Juliet that year), Maniac Magee, Stargirl, and other books that traumatized us youngsters without being ancient “classics” from the pre 1940's. I was a bit miffed at the middle school and high school class reading selections, but I had been a book worm in elementary school and had been forced to read books I didn’t necessarily like the cover of due to the school’s small library.

(As a side note, don't we always judge a book by its cover? We can't judge it by anything else until we've read the entire book and found out if it's rubbish or not. At least covers these days have some details to entice us to read them further.)

Words Make a Difference

I built a decent foundation in historic and fantasy novels. Robin Hood, The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes, Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit, short novels by Dick King Smith, The Lost Years of Merlin, Harry Potter, the Twilight series (oh the middle school years, at least I could chat it up with the ladies about Team Edward v. Team Jacob), and a few other recommendations from friends such as some historical fiction tales by Bernard Cornwell. Yet, the classics were untouched save for the copies of Great Illustrated Classics I could get my hands on. It was then I read about the Three Musketeers, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Count of Monte Cristo, etc. though I wouldn't read Dickens and Irving until after college.

I have often wondered what my education would have looked like had I someone to guide me, a tutor perhaps. My mother certainly did her best as a widow with three children. I don’t know about my sisters, but I despised the days during summer vacation when mother would make us do math and writing worksheets. Now that I am a parent, it seems a genius notion and may prevent the majority of educational digression youngsters suffer from between school years.

During my reading of “Richard Evan’s Quote Book” on Saturday, one quote has bounced around the inside of my skull.

“One father is worth more than a hundred school masters." ---George Herbert

Learning at Home

As a single dad myself, and an active parent in my children’s education, the dining room is filled with charts containing the alphabet, numbers, maps of the world, and (most recently) a large bulletin board. It’s practically a classroom! Or as I like to think of it: a workshop for learning. I certainly have learned a lot there.

On Saturday I also took the original penciled schematic of the “Flying Reindeer” buckle, which many of you may have heard about by now (don’t worry, they’re not yet in stock), and fitted it in a thrifted wooden frame. I had it originally hung in my living room next to some other Santa Claus themed works, but this sketch seemed to belong in the room where it had been drawn.

My boys helped me make it during our New Year’s break. I’ve never worked as hard or has feverishly on a buckle design as I did this one. I have told my children this, and I share it with you now, I believe the inspiration for that buckle came partly from another realm. There were times my hand was guided when my mind was stuck. We worked quickly and had the majority of it done in a few hours. Some small details were added over the next two days.

We do homework and eat dinner together at the table. We gild picture frames, paint buckles, make paper mache volcanoes, sculpt clay, make dioramas, and sew all in the same place. I believe home should be a place of learning, a place of creation, not just of rest.

With all the time we spend learning together, all the time I have spent trying to read a bit more (whether about Christmas or other subjects), I can’t help thinking how much different my own upbringing and formal education would have been had my father been alive for most of my life.

Would I have had someone to practice my French with? Would we have bonded over our love of Oscar Wilde? Would I have chided him that his favourite film “Chariots of Fire” was a good film, but that “Raiders of the Lost Ark” should have won the Oscar in 1982? Well, we shall never know in this life. I certainly wished we stayed in the same area growing up. I did the math once I moved onto high school. Since 4^th grade we moved around every 2 years (on average) to a different school, a different congregation, and a different town. That was normal for us. Many of you “army brats” might have experienced something similar!

Having taken the reins in many aspects of my life, becoming a Santa Claus wasn’t any different. Did I want someone to take me under their wing and teach me? Yes. Was there anyone locally who could? Not that I could find. I spent hours online researching and trying to find the best kit or ways to fabricate such. So much has happened in the last ten years, good heavens.

Growing Upwards

I was three years into figuring things out for myself when I was introduced to the online community. Pictures paint one standard (don’t even get me started on how misleading AI is), and yet performing and vocal skills are another. If I had a yardstick to measure the kind of Santa I wanted to be, many I saw through my little online window, and everyone I saw in person in my little South Eastern Idaho town, fell short of my expectations. But I yearned for a “father figure” to teach me, to instruct me. Not to be the little red hen and I a member of the lazy party, but to be a little chick myself and learn from who I wanted desperately to be.

Hence, the saying “Make him proud” when referring to the man at the North Pole was born, and has been a part of my Santa Claus tutorial videos. If Santa looked down from the top of the world with his magic spyglass and saw my efforts, would I be growing closer and closer to what he was like? Would he be proud? Would I qualify in his eyes to be an official representative of him? Would children believe that a 21-year-old could emulate this ancient, jolly character who is a conglomeration of so many legends? I couldn’t attend schools, they were all much too far away. At few gatherings I had attended virtually or in person I received more critical and harsh words than encouragement from the others in attendance. I have often felt an outsider at events or in the community. Some things I’ve very much felt I’ve had to go at it alone, building and growing up my portayal of Santa Claus has been one such thing. Was I following in anyone else's footsteps?

It wasn’t till a few years into my run as Santa that I discovered that my own father had portrayed Santa for the family in England, though I had thought it had just been my poppy and maybe an uncle on the rare occasion Poppy was unable to (both have been deceased since I was a child). Suddenly, it appeared I had another thing in common with my father and grandfather. They too had, though to a much less professional extent I’ll admit, felt the pull to represent the old fatherly figure for the little ones. I couldn't ask them any advice, and at this point I may be more experienced than they were in this particular area. But I would have liked the comradery and the extra helping hands. I am looking forward to the day my own sons, should they choose to, dress up and I get to meet "Santa."

School masters v. Fathers

Currently, there are many Santa schools and organisations out there. Finding "school masters" isn’t hard. Anyone and everyone is a teacher, whether with experience or not. We each have something to learn from one another, that is true. Perhaps the schools and potential role models out there may be likened unto a buffet. Those who find bits and pieces of what they like may take them from the serving table and create their own unique dish they enjoy. The standard of the meal must be upheld though. Spoiled and rotten cuisine has no place at the table. Not only must we be careful what we add to our plate, we must be careful what we prepare in the kitchen to share with others.

As a youth, I was the boy who would stand in line and ask for Santa’s true identity. I have been through a line 3 times until the Santa let me pull down his beard at the end. Did I know who he was? Not a clue. If Santa can’t afford real boots, he can’t be the real Santa. My yardstick was detailed then; it is even more so now. It is shared by my children, who have seen real bearded gentlemen and have said, “Well, that can’t be Santa because his beard isn’t big enough/white enough/lovely enough.” They can spot an imposter a mile away, yet they truly believe that their dad works for Santa Claus. If not, wouldn’t it just be madness? And maybe it is.

So, who is your “father” in the Santa Claus world? Do you have someone who has (or even several who have) inspired you and who you want to “grow up” to be like? More importantly, are you willing to put in the work to become like them? If you’re like me, you may be on your own journey, learning things by yourself and looking at photos from afar. You may be pals with your Santa role model and be more like brothers. Whatever your situation may be, I hope you find comfort knowing you’re not alone, even if you do feel lonely. You may hesitate to pick up the phone and call, to draft an email and send it, or write a meaningful comment on a blog or other online post. We need more change in the world, and it starts with you.

Will you join me in uplifting others in the community and putting in a bit more elbow grease to uphold the traditional image of Santa Claus? You may find yourself becoming the very inspiration you need to continue on.

In The Santa Claus Initiative, I often discuss the “Mirror Moment” that we experience when dressed up. Hardly ever do we see Santa from any perspective but over our nose. We may forget what we look like and what the fruits of our hard work have blossomed into. Yet, in that reflection in the car window, the front door, or the mirror in the hallway, we may see Santa! Only to do a double take and assure the child within our hearts, “He’s in there, isn’t he? It’s just us, but it’s also him.”

That sounds like a book I’d read.

Yours as always,

Santa Stuart

Father & Son, December 2017