Santa gives insight into his special business

“Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas,” boomed Santa Claus.

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas swung open the front door, in Philipsburg for the time being.

His belly, tucked under his red suit, protruded into the space the door once occupied. His beard flowed on top of his plump tummy. His cheeks were ever rosy, even in the warmth of his home.

Saint Nick led the way to his favorite chair, a cherry colored seat just big enough for him. Every step he took was greeted with a jingle from the bell swinging in his hand.

“OK, Shawn from State College,” he said as he sat. “Ask Santa Claus anything you want.”

Q: Are you real?

A: Yes. There are some folks who are Santa helpers. You’d have to be under a rock not to see that — that’s going on if you go from place to place in the city. Places like the Salvation Army use many volunteer Santa Clauses to raise money for their causes. But, Shawn, I’m the real guy.

Q: Why do you wear a red suit?

A: That goes back to the beginning. Of course you know Santa Claus, Saint Nick, comes from Saint Nicholas, who was a bishop of the Greek church many years ago. That’s how Santa Claus started out. I became a saint, and one of the many reasons for that was he was a very generous person. I donated and gave things away, especially to the poor who didn’t have much. The bishops of the Greek church wore red robes. Santa Claus wears red because that’s the color I started out with.

Q: How do you make so many toys?

A: I honestly don’t. The elves here are the primary toy makers. One of the questions I get, too, is what are the elves exactly?

Well, Mrs. Claus and I never had children. We adopted elves many, many years ago, and they stayed and became our friends and pretty soon there were more and more. In a sense, they’re employees, but they’re much more like our children.

Q: How do you find out what kids want?

A: I visit a lot of them. I also find out from the elves. I was just asking the elves the other day for some figures, and they had only received 100,000 mail pieces, stuff from the post office. Everything else comes from emails and video letters. Santa Claus has a whole technology division now. We couldn’t do it without the logistics that comes from the computers.

Q: What kinds of toys are kids asking for this year?

A: Santa can barely keep track anymore. I always want to point out to young people that many years ago the presents everyone wanted were skateboards, sleds, basketballs, baseball bats, bikes, balls and lots of outdoor play stuff. In the last 20 years that’s become less and less. I had someone ask for a skateboard the other day, and I couldn’t believe it. I’ve seen many, many kids and they were the first one to ask for a skateboard.

The presents today are iPads, computers, cell phones, a lot of items that are very large gifts in the sense of the amount of resources it takes to make them. Years ago, I delivered a bunch of toys under the tree. Sometimes, now, I might only deliver one package ... Being Santa Claus is also a really eye-opening experience. Sometimes the things kids ask for is just heartbreaking. Some ask for a bed. Some ask for a home. Some ask for their parents to get back together. You get to see how well off some kids are and how some kids aren’t, so being Santa Claus is a very humbling experience.

Q: What kind of planning goes into delivering toys all over the world in one night?

A: I study a lot of logistics. Every stop has to be planned. Every stop matters. It may be on the horizon that some of my work is cut down significantly, because we are into drones. The elves really like the drone idea, so Santa Claus might not have work as hard as he has over the years.

Q: How do you keep everyone’s toys in one bag?

A: Well, I can’t do it all in one load. Santa Claus has a lot of distribution points to pack the stuff closer to our locations. It’s too much to have in one bag.

Q: Why do you give kids presents?

A: I give presents because that’s what Saint Nicholas was about. It’s all about the gift, which first came from Christ in the beginning, and now we celebrate that by giving others giving. What better way to celebrate than to give a gift? No one gets more out of giving a gift than Saint Nick. The rewards of giving are huge, so that makes me a very happy guy.

Q: How’s Rudolph and all of the other reindeer?

A: They are doing alright. I don’t bring them out too much this time of year for visits. It’s hunting season, you know, and they have really nice racks.

Q: How do you make a naughty or nice list?

A: There’s a lot that goes on. In fact, now we have help from The Elf on the Shelf. Of course, technology helps us. We know what’s going on and if kids are being good or bad. The thing is, is that no one’s perfect. There was only one perfect person, and the rest of us have our flaws. I always say to the kids that all I want them to do is try to be nice and give to others.

Q: Could you give me the scoop and say which one I’m on?

A: Oh, well, let me take a look here on my iPad. You are Shawn from State College. All right, I will type that in here, and we’ll get it to load. Ah, you’re good, Shawn. Now, you’re definitely not 100 percent, but you don’t have to worry about coal.

This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 6:03 PM with the headline "Santa gives insight into his special business."