This week in her ongoing exploration of original street style via the uniform, Sarah Blais journeys far beyond the north pole, to the arctic suburbias of mall country. Reader, she survived.
The first St. Nick was a jolly Santa Don, a 60-year-old entertainer with a very real beard. He’s been Santa Claus-ing since 2005, and works at both Fairview and Yorkdale. At Yorkdale last weekend, he averaged 700 kids per day, three days straight, and apparently that’s slow for a weekend. At Fairview he sees between 150 and 200 kids per day. Apparently the boys are still really into Lego! Pirate Lego, Ninja Lego, you name it, it’s the most common thing they ask for; the girls are all about Princess Barbies. For Christmas this year, Don would really just like to spend time with his granddaughter (she’s convinced he is Santa, all year round).
Don’s uniform consists of a red top, and red pants, black boots and a red hat. He’s got a fancier suit at home, with real fur and all-white boots. Don added a few pieces himself, including the festive pin and “Santa” belt. When kids ask Santa Don what kind of cookies he wants, he’ll ask them what their favorite is first, then reply “That’s my favorite too!” One time a little girl whispered in Don’s ear, “I want mommy and daddy to stop fighting for Christmas.” He didn’t know what to do, or say; with kids you never know what to expect.
The next Santa was Ken, 66, from Bayview Village. Ken used to be a high school music teacher, and now works part-time in a daycare. Apparently the psychology of a 1 – 2 year old is really intense, so he and the photographer work together to make sure the kids are comfortable. Ken has observed a ratio between distance and fear for most kids, especially with the 12-foot nutcrackers behind him (and their daunting stare).
Ken grew a real beard this year, but uses a pillow to fake the belly. Some of Ken’s personal techniques involve telling the kids that you get what you give, and that he won’t bring presents unless they’re nice to mommy and keep their rooms neat. He also tells them to cut up one carrot into 9 pieces for the reindeer, because giving them too much will slow them down. “You never know what kids are going to say or bring to you, they’re very creative. Kids ask me sometimes, where are the reindeer – well these are my reindeer bells (shakes arm) and as long as Rudolph hears the bells, he stays on the roof. But if you go look for him – he is very shy, so he might not come out”. Ken gets 100 kids a day on the weekends, giving him more time to play the Ukulele he brings.
The last stop was the Distillery District Christmas Market aka Christmasland. Hot eggnog and Santa’s Lane gave the place an added warmth, with Christmas carols being sung and dressed up characters walking about. Meeting with Santa meant going through a little maze until you found the elves & Santa (all outside). I asked Santa where he got his uniform from, and he replied, “Well Mrs. Claus made it of course!”. Mrs. Claus makes all his clothes. And his beard? Definitely real. This Santa has been around since 1823, and is planning on living forever.
Santa sees many hundreds of children at the Christmas Market, asking for toy trucks and cash registers, barbies and iPads. He’s happy to hear that kids are still playing with the classic toys though. Santa’s favorite cookie is oatmeal raisin. The reindeer get his suit dirty when they brush up against him, so Mrs. Claus has made 5 suits and sends the dirty ones to Elf dry cleaning. His favorite reindeer is Rudolph who was born in 1939, the youngest of them all. They’re all up at the north pole right now, but are getting ready for Christmas Eve.
Sarah Blais shoots the Uniform Project every week, almost. Follow her on Twitter at @sarahblais_.
