Senior stories by Cogir: Santa

Transcript

Dave: Thanks to the Cogir community of Cadence Chandler, we have Santa. 

Santa: Thank you. Hi. How you doing?

Dave: Well, I have to tell you, I’ve done a lot of interviews. I’m a little intimidated because you already know all about me, good and bad. 

Santa: I won’t tell. So I don’t have to confess what I did back in June? No.

Santa: I keep good secrets. 

Dave: Okay. Good. It’s good to have you, Santa. 

Santa: It’s nice to be here.

Dave: So I wanna ask you about your book because you were kind enough to bring me your book. And hints on visiting Santa and excerpts from his diary. 

Santa: Correct. 

Dave: Tell me about this, Santa.

Santa: Okay. The first part of the book is for parents, so they know how to prepare their children to come visit Santa. Because a lot of times, there’s two hour waits and the kids get anxious and all. There’s a lot of hints of what to do before you bring the children. 

Dave: Give us a couple tips. Give us a little insight. What are a couple main tips about preparing kids to come see Santa? 

Santa: Have a nice toy that they like to play with. Make sure their diapers are changed to clean and they’re not upset. And just they normally just be calm and talk to them and keep because when they get to see Santa, they go and break into tears. 

Dave: Yeah. Of course. 

Santa: Let me get around the spot here real quick here. Even the bigger kids, they’re brave in line. And once they get up, boom, there’s tears falling left and right.

Dave: I haven’t heard of a book that actually gives tips to parents on how to prepare for Santa. But after being Santa for centuries, you must have felt there’s a need for it. 

Santa: Right. And I knew there was nothing out there. Parents had no idea. They just come. They don’t think they’re gonna wait two hours. So, some of the stores now have changed, and you have to have an appointment. And they give you cards so you know what time to come, so you’re not waiting for two hours. You just wait your turn, and they book them every half hour. So many people for every 

Dave: Or it’s almost like a callback when you’re at a restaurant. Right. They give you a beeper Right. When Santa is ready. Oh, how technology has changed.

Santa: Right? Everything changes in time. But it’s really good you give those tips, not just to help the parents, but it enables the kids to have a better experience. 

Santa: Yes. Yes. And that’s what it’s all about. 

Dave: It enables Santa to show everybody a better experience. 

Santa: Correct. I like to make everybody happy and smile. 

Dave: Santa, over the centuries, how many kids? Thousands. How many? Thousands. 

Santa: Thousands. I can’t keep count because it’s been a long, long time.

Dave: Now it’s a hard question to ask Santa. Okay. But I’m just curious. Have you ever been stumped on a toy or a wish? 

Santa: Not really. When I first started, I was new to the game, so to speak. The children would ask for things, and I had a hard time understanding. I had a child ask me for a Bud Light. I said, what’s a Bud Light? So I called one of my elves over. I said, this child asked me for a Bud Light. He said, no. He must have been Buzz Lightyear from toy stores. 

Dave: Buzz Light. Buzz Lightyear.

Santa: So I learned from that experience. And since then, I studied toys. I go to the toy stores. I talk to the toy managers. I check the computer. I got to book with all the Thomas’ trains to learn the names of all the different train cars. I got the Pokemon cards. I had to learn who was who and what was what. I have to know what’s in stock, what’s out of stock. So when kids ask and the parents can’t get the toy, I have to have an answer for the child why he may not get what thing he’s expecting to get.

Dave: See, people don’t realize this, that there’s a responsibility to being Santa to understand every generation because toys change. 

Santa: Right. 

Dave: Along with generations. 

Santa: Right. Right. It was a hard time, but I try to make every experience, like, Pokemon cards were hard to get one year. So when children asked, the parents were standing there and they shake their head no. So I tell the children, my elves ran out of ink, and I don’t know if we’ll have enough ink to get you some Pokemon cards. 

Dave: Interesting. 

Santa: The parent nodded yes that he get it. I might have a little bit of ink left. We might be able to get you some. So I try to look for parents to give me cues so I know what to say to the children. Don’t promise anything. We can’t do that at Santa because you don’t know what the child wants. Economic situation is with the family. So because some kids ask for ridiculous things. 

Dave: Well, that’s a good point that you mentioned because just staying in the lane of Pokemon, some of those cards were incredibly expensive if kids would ask for a specific Pokemon card. Right. And you can’t put that pressure on the parents 

Santa: Right. 

Dave: Because some of those were ridiculous in price.

Santa: The same thing happened with the Cabbage Patch Doll 

Dave: Right. 

Santa: When they went wild on the scene. So every season, there’s something more than the Tickle Me Elmo is one year. And Barbies aren’t as popular as people think, but I do get requests from some. 

Dave: Do kids mostly ask for material items or do they ask more for life items like I want my sister to get healthy again?

Santa: I’ve had loads of those experiences. It’s very rough sitting in that chair. 

Dave: How do you handle that? 

Santa: It depends on what the child asks. Like, I’ve had a child come to me and tell me his grandmother just passed away. Can I bring her back? So I explained to him that God needed a very special angel, and your grandmother was the one he picked. So I try to do it depending on what they ask, what I can do. I’ve had a little girl sit on my lap telling me this was her last Christmas. She only had, I guess, weeks or months to live. So I’d be the last Santa that she saw. I’ve got children asking me to get their parents to stop fighting so they would be together. 

Dave: Or to spend more time with them or something. 

Santa: I’ve had parents come to me and said, tell my child to quit hitting us. So you get both, you get both sides. 

Dave: How much does Santa handle the parents as much as the kids? 

Santa: It’s basically a children’s holiday. The parents are there. I try to be as accommodating and as pleasant as I can so that the parents have a good experience with their child. Even when a child is screaming and crying, I do my best to get them to calm down. I might sing to them. I might talk to them in a low whisper. I might try anything just to get them to sort of calm down so they can get a decent picture. 

Dave: Right.

Santa: Because it’s a business in the picture category. I don’t worry about the business. I worry about the child, what the child wants. I make sure I’m smiling, and I do my best to get the child to smile. 

Dave: Think about how many photos you’re in.

Santa: Oh. 

Dave:You are on every shelf. 

Santa: I’ve had people come to me with their Christmas cards and say, look. I just got this Christmas card from my friend and look who’s in it. It’s me. 

Dave: And you’ve been in every setting probably in the world including department stores. In fact, I think I saw a photo from your book that you were at Robinson’s May, as Santa. 

Santa: Right.

Dave: And what always amazes me is when you see you in a department store, it can be crazy all around you with lines and everything else, but you’re always calm. Santa’s always very calm.

Santa: Yes. 

Dave: And I always found that to be heartwarming. 

Santa: Yeah. Okay. I try my best.

Dave: Now in your book, we talked about parents and kids, tips to prepare to see Santa. What else is in your book? 

Santa: I can’t remember now all the different stories. 

Dave: Well, I know that because missus Claus informed me these are your grandkids on the cover. 

Santa: Yes.

Dave: And they look really small here. 

Santa: Right. 

Dave: But now they’re young adults. 

Santa: They’re young adults. 

Dave: They have to cherish this.

Santa: Right. My youngest grandson told his teacher that his father was Santa Claus. And the teacher said, no. You can’t say that. And reprimanded him. My wife went to school, showed the teacher my picture and my name, and the teacher apologized to my grandson. Said you’re right. Yeah. 

Daev: What’s it like to have a grandfather as Santa? It’s a good thing, but is there a little pressure there too?

Santa: I don’t know. It’s hard. I’m not in their shoes. 

Dave: Tell me about Cadence Chandler and Santa. You must bring some holiday joy to everybody.

Santa: Yeah. It’s just coming here. Everybody wanted a hug. They wanted to take my picture. So it was real heartwarming. But talking about adults and around the world, we were in China once and tours go with the umbrellas. I don’t know if you ever saw the tours in China. They saw me. The whole tour broke up for them to take pictures with me. I don’t wear red. I don’t wear things that people identify. I just wear my regular clothes. But that was a riot. The whole people, they’re yelling at me to stop. Not everybody got their picture. So that was a lot of fun. 

Dave: I love it, because today, Santa, just to give our viewers an inside tip, We’re in a high rise in Downtown Scottsdale, and Santa, in the October, comes walking into our business structure. Did you see some people on the way up? 

Santa: Just a one or two, they took a look and then a double take. 

Dave: Do they ask for pictures? Do they–

Santa: Usually, when I’m in a place, they do it if they have a camera. I was in New Orleans. My daughter lived in Louisiana. And we went to Mardi Gras one year. And it was a group of guys, and they saw me. And they yelled, “there’s Santa Claus, I knew you didn’t spend the whole year up at the North Pole.” So it’s fun like that when people recognize you out of a costume. Right. They know who I really am. 

Dave: So let me ask you a question that my parents once told me that I had a strategy with Santa to where if I confess something I did wrong, then it was okay. Like, it was a confession to Santa, and then I was cleared of all sins. So I could get great Christmas gifts. And I think that year, I had stolen, like, a dollar from my mom’s purse or something. But I thought if I confessed it to Santa, that I would be okay that Christmas season. Do you get a lot of confessions?

Santa: Not really. No? No. No. I get kids, you know, they ask me if they’re on the naughty list or nice list. I turn it around, say, where do you think you are? 

Dave: Oh, you put it on them. And what is their response?

Santa: They always say, oh, nice list. No. They’re just stunned. 

Dave: Have you ever had one admit at that point That they’re on the naughty list? 

Santa: No. Usually not. They said, I think I’m on the naughty list, but one kid said, but if you bring my aunt some beer, I’ll be on the good list. 

Dave: I’ll bring your dad that Bud Light, and he’ll get a Buzz Light. Everybody will be happy. Right? 

Santa: Right. Right.

Dave: What is the most heartwarming part about being Santa? 

Santa: Bringing joy to people’s lives. I’ve had a couple people get engaged on my lap, so that was touching. And just, in a restaurant once eating, this woman came over and said, I have a bet with my friend. Are you Santa Claus? I said, yes. I am. Yeah. I knew it. I knew it. And she went back. Just bringing joy like that to people, grown ups, youngsters. In Italy, I had a little kid come running to me saying, “Father Christmas, Father Christmas,” and what? Got a hug. So it happens all over anywhere. 

Dave: Do they challenge you? Do they pull on your beard or say name the reindeer, name the elves? 

Santa: It’s the parents. 

Dave: Oh the parents do that.

Santa: The parents both see he’s real. Kids don’t. Kids are usually respectful. 

Dave: You know, not often do I have a chance to interview Santa, so I get to ask all the questions I’m curious about. 

Santa: Okay.

Dave: Santa is one of those few positions where you can never have a bad day. You can’t. Oh. But yet I see Santa with long lines, people who just can’t wait to see Santa. But Santa, once in a while, might have a cold or a tough day or how do you get past that?

Santa: If you get a cold, you can’t work. 

Dave: Right. 

Santa: You won’t take a chance of infecting anybody. Okay. But I take my shot. 

Dave: Especially now since the COVID stuff and all that. 

Santa: I take all my shots. I take medicine. So I try to stay as healthy as I can. 

Dave: What about a typical tough day? Now I know Santa’s different. Okay? Santa’s magical. I know that. But a little part of Santa’s human too.

Santa: Right. The tough days when you get– never ending like the close you get to Christmas. Usually, Santa’s out in the stores in November, but people wait to the last minute. And the lines are long and long, but you can’t wait to get back to the break room to get a glass of water. 

Dave: I bet.

Santa: It’s you get a sandwich or something. 

Dave: Talk about Santa at the Cogir community of Cadence Chandler. Beautiful place. 

Santa: Yes. 

Dave: And Santa must love living there with Miss Claus.

Santa: Yes. It’s fine. I had some problems as I got older, and they’re very helpful. I do PT. I do exercises. I try to stay as healthy as I can so I can be a happy and workable Santa. 

Dave: When I stop by the Cogir Communities and I haven’t been by Cadence Chandler, I need to. 

Santa: Okay. Come visit 

Dave: But I’ve been, I would love to come visit, especially this time of year. I have an inside connection. But I’ve been to Troon, and I’ve been to the Cogir community on Shea, and they’re beautiful. I mean, the dining rooms and the friendships. I wanna go there to watch Sunday football because there’s televisions everywhere, and there’s activities going on. And what I love about Cogir Communities is you continue to live your best life, and, obviously, you are Santa. 

Santa: The best part, the game I like was this chair volleyball. You sit in your chair and you play volleyball. That’s a lot of fun. 

Dave: I love it, but I’ve never really understood it. So can the ball be hit to an area that somebody can’t get to? 

Santa: They use a balloon so nobody gets hurt, and you can’t hit it twice. You know, same rules. You gotta get over the net. But it’s exercise, and it’s a lot of fun. 

Dave: You know, that’s one sport that I might be in shape for. I might be able to hang in there. If you get winded playing chair volleyball, I don’t know. That’s trouble. 

Santa: Right. 

Dave: Santa, thank you.

Santa: You’re welcome. 

Dave: And Merry Christmas. 

Santa: Merry Christmas to you.

Summary

Santa Claus, a resident at Cadence Chandler by Cogir, shares what it’s like to be Santa year after year. He talks about how best to help kids prepare for a visit with Santa, how he handles emotional requests, and how he keeps up with changing toy trends. He also discusses his book, Hints on Visiting Santa and Excerpts from His Diary, which offers practical tips for parents and personal stories from his time in the red suit.

Now living at Cadence Chandler, Santa stays active, participates in community activities, and continues spreading joy. This conversation offers a glimpse into the real experiences of being Santa—and the impact it has on families everywhere.