Our very own Helper Santa

You know how Santa can't personally be in every mall everywhere at Christmastime?  How are there so many Santas, then?  If you ask Elle, she'll explain all about Helper Santas -- how Santa does make the occasional appearance at various events or malls, but that he also has lots of Helper Santas who cover the rest.  They all report back to him, of course, so it's still a legit operation.  She knows all about it.  And last night, she got an entirely different view of how it all works.

Ever since our early married days, Mike has occasionally played Santa for family or ward parties.  He's pretty darn jolly himself anyway and he's a natural people person, so it's a good fit.  Every time he has a Santa gig, he repeatedly comments that it's the best job he's ever had.  I mean, everyone loves Santa, right?  Driving him to and from gigs are fun, too, since we usually get people waving at us at stop lights and cars honking as we go.  It's a fun, covert operation for us both.

He hasn't played Santa for a few years so it was fun to elicit the kids' help in getting him ready and in helping to keep the real Santa's secret.  We actually bought him a Santa suit this year so now he's set for future events.  We colored his eyebrows white, added the accessories and he was ready to go ....

My favorite Santa ever.  

Santa getting a little action ...

We hid out in the bishop's office until it was time for his grand appearance and then he 'Ho Ho'd his way into the party.  The kids lined up and had their one-on-one with the Big Man himself.  The primary president sat behind his chair, handing him treats for the kids and telling him the kids' names so Mike could address them personally.  He'd call out, "Sarah!  You've grown so much since last year!"  It was pretty cute.

And then my girls jumped in line, too.  Pretty sure Paige laughingly asked for a unicorn, which Santa apparently promised to bring to her.

And slightly more bizarrely, Haley asked Santa for an elf.  Not sure what we'd do with our own elf since I totally despise the Elf on the Shelf idea.  Way too much pressure for me.

Elle totally loved watching her dad pull Santa off so convincingly.  She later said to him, "I believe in Santa, dad.  I believe in you."

My favorite part of the night was when Mike made his initial appearance and everyone started clapping and cheering.  When it had sort of quieted down, one little girl loudly said to her parents, "I thought Santa was supposed to be fat!"  While her parents tried to shush her, Mike laughed, pointed to the girl and said, "That little girl gets a pony!"

*** MERRY CHRISTMAS! ***