Santa’s magic

Ricardo Allen as Santa Claus surrounded by happy kids from a local children’s home earlier this month.
Ricardo Allen as Santa Claus surrounded by happy kids from a local children’s home earlier this month.

When Ricardo Allen first dressed as Santa Claus it was just to make some extra money. But he loved the joy and wonder he saw on the faces of the children so much that he has now been dressing as Santa during the Christmas season for ten years.

Allen, an exuberant 45-year-old, told Sunday Newsday his father used to play Santa at his primary school when he was a child but it was never something he considered doing. However, a friend of his worked for a children's entertainment and character company as a Santa and gave the company his name when they needed an extra Santa.

“One day, the company I now work with called and asked if I was interested in being Santa Claus for a corporate staff Christmas party. I had just started my own business so I didn’t mind the extra cash and agreed. Apparently, I got rave reviews and I’ve been doing it every year since then.”

Since that fateful day, people have requested him for certain events. For example, he has been the West Mall Santa for seven years. “You get the experience of watching some of these kids grow up in front your eyes. A lot of them come back and I’m fortunate enough to remember some of their names and their little faces light up. It adds to the mystery and magic of Santa. It’s really a nice experience.”

Ricardo Allen aka Santa.

He recalled an incident when one of his daughter’s friends came to see Santa. Neither the girl nor her parents knew it was him so when she sat on his lap he asked about her dance classes and other details of her life. “She was shocked. She asked, ‘How you know that?!’ And I told her I was Santa and I know these things. She went off on a tangent... Those are the kinds of moments that make it worthwhile.”

He said he had a lot of fun interacting with children at corporate and residential events, children’s homes, and malls.

Ricardo Allen dressed as Santa Claus for an event.

Allen said these encounters were more than just him asking children what they wanted for Christmas or if they were well-behaved during the year. He said some children brought him letters to Santa and, one time, he was even given brownies.

Allen believes he makes a good Santa because he is a “good size, a jolly person, and like to be the centre of attention.” He said smaller people had to wear a “belly suit” but as he is already “a big guy,” he did not need one. He said that was a bonus because the belly seemed to be a test of authenticity for children as he was often poked and the children would whisper in awe that it was real.

Besides a love for children, he said it was necessary to be outgoing and creative to play Santa. He recalled one time while parents were lined up with their children to take photos with Santa, the camera equipment malfunctioned. There was a lull as people waited for the problem to be fixed so he got up and entertained the children.

Ricardo Allen dressed as Santa paying a personal visit to his two-month-old godson Zayn Leung.

“I found myself doing the floss, playing rock paper slippers, and doing the dab with the kids. You can’t just sit on the chair and do nothing when you find yourself in a situation like that. You have to get up and explain the situation, interact with the kids, maybe let parents use their phones to take pictures instead of the professional photos they paid for.”

He also tries to do charity jobs when he can.

Unfortunately, Allen does not have his own suit because the ones he found were not of the high quality of the one owned by the entertainment company. Therefore, the organisations would rent the suit, or the entertainment company would donate it, and he would donate his time.

He recalled one time at a children’s home he noticed a little girl who obviously wanted to go to him but she was hesitant even when other children encouraged her. She did not and later, someone explained her situation.

“I cried you know. I was angry. I had to take a breath. These children have some really heart-wrenching stories...So any time the opportunity arises to interact with kids that don’t have the opportunity to see Santa because of funds or circumstance, I always try to do it for free.”

Ricardo Allen and his daughter, Hailey St Louis-Allen, 8, dressed as an elf.

Even his eight-year-old daughter, Hailey St Louis-Allen, gets in on the act.

He said she sometimes dressed as an elf and was Santa’s helper, handing out candy canes and other Christmas treats. She even guards the door to the room in which he changes in or out of the suit.

He believes, although she has seen him dress as Santa, she still believes there is a real Santa. He said he and his wife gave Hailey a gift from Santa every year, and he tells her that he spoke to Santa about her so she feels he has a connection to the real Santa Claus.

This year, for the first time, he was Santa at a school. Not just any school however, but the one Hailey attends. “I now know what it’s like to be a rock star. I’m talking about the screaming and the chanting, and they held on to me and I had a crowd of little girls following me. It was crazy!

“And you would think, with Santa Claus, it would more be the younger ones... I’m talking about the standard fours and fives fighting the younger kids to hug up Santa! And of course, the next day, my daughter was a celebrity because Hailey has connections with Santa, and she doh love nothing better than that.”

But it’s not only children who want to be close to Santa.

Allen said he was always surprised when adults–men and women–wanted to sit on Santa’s lap. He said once he went to a corporate Christmas party that had no children in attendance. A photo booth was set up and there were quarrels among groups about who would be the ones to sit on Santa’s lap.

At his more usual jobs, adults would line up with the children to take pictures with Santa. He said, to some, a picture of them sitting on Santa’s lap was the continuation of a family tradition they had since childhood, and to others it brought back pleasant childhood memories.

To others though, it was a more stimulating experience. He said some women would stroke his beard, rub his head and whisper interesting Christmas wishes in his ear. “I go along with it as long as they don’t cross the line.”

However, there were some negative experiences as well because some children are fearful of Santa. He recalled when one little boy urinated while sitting on his lap because he was so afraid. In these cases, the parents are encouraged to get in the picture by sitting on the arm of Santa’s chair and putting the children on their lap.

Unfortunately, some parents force their children to sit on Santa and have no problem with pictures of the child crying. In those instances, Allen tries to comfort the child, speaking to them gently but he said there was very little he could do since he was the one they feared.

Allen encourages parents not to traumatise their children in this way.

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