I started out representing the man at the North Pole by myself. There were other men who put on a red suit in my town, but none of them held a high standard to their representations. I conducted research to ensure I wouldn’t settle for a horrible beard, boot covers, or a cheap Halloween-store-like costume suit. It was hard, there aren’t any scientific journals or easy-to-find websites out there dedicated to teaching others how to be a better Santa Claus without considering that their starting-out budget is a small one.
I used Facebook a bit to see if there were any groups or pages in my area, but coming up with the exact name groups from the top of my head was extremely hard. Most Christmas community groups don’t include “Santa Claus” in their title. Perhaps a variation of such or a hint at something Christmas performer related. The only exception is the Santa Claus Conservatory.
Once I finally navigated into the world of Santa representatives, friend requests came pouring in from people I didn’t know. Eventually, I stopped accepting requests due to the amount of inactivity and political or obscene garbage in their posts. I had the groups to keep me in touch with what was happening in the Christmas community, I didn’t need anything other than that.
But then I noticed a problem. There was a lack of a standard of presentation among many so-called “Santa representatives” that deeply disturbed me. Many times it was them just simply not caring to improve, others it’s all they had ever known. As someone who had been stuck in the same rut, but determined to find assets and resources that would help me improve my standard of performance, appearance, and bookings, I desired to share my knowledge with those who wouldn’t discard it. I’ve learned so much being a Santa representative and I want to help others be amazing for the kids without feeling like they have to spend thousands of dollars just to look amazing.
In deciding what I would call my educational platform, I had a few things to consider. 1. I had only a few year’s experience in a small town, what did I have to offer those who’d been doing it for much longer and in a larger area? And 2. What was my ultimate goal?
I created a workshop. A place different from the other groups. A workshop to share ideas, to develop and to build, not toys, but better representatives of the man at the North Pole. Not meant to replace any education one could find by spending a few hundred dollars for a 3 day crash course at a physical “Santa School,” but rather somewhere they could come to recognize the areas they knew they could improve upon while also learning things they perhaps hadn’t thought of or realized before.
There are many people who can’t afford to travel to Santa schools to begin with. Being a gift-giver or representative of the man at the North Pole isn’t just specific to one town, state, country, or continent. It was my desire to provide quality video courses that could reach across oceans and help encourage and assist representatives around the globe to increase their knowledge and skills. More than ever is the world in need of magic and love.
I thought back to primary school and how we learned the basics that would prepare us for a continuing education. As such, I found a fitting name for my platform. A workshop it was, but I don’t profess it to be the final destination - it was a beginner’s course - a junior Santa Claus workshop.
Yours as always,
Santa Stuart