Santa shares secrets, Christmas insights during exclusive interview

Written by Jeff Richards
December 21, 2018
Santa Claus visits with children during a recent appearance at a church dinner party, Cedar City, Utah, Dec. 12, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News
CEDAR CITY — With his biggest workday of the year soon approaching, North Pole’s most famous resident has been gearing up for his annual all-out Christmas Eve gift-delivery blitz.

Cedar City News managed to catch up with Santa Claus during a recent appearance at a church party when he visited with dozens of youngsters and patiently listened to their requests before handing them each a candy cane and wishing them all “Merry Christmas.”

Santa took a short break from compiling his final “naughty or nice” spreadsheets and provided Cedar City News with some interesting insights. In question-and-answer format, his responses are as follows:

Santa Claus visits with children during a recent appearance at a church dinner party, Cedar City, Utah, Dec. 12, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

What is the most challenging part of your job and what is the most rewarding?

The most challenging part of my job is to have the time to talk to all the kids like I want to. I want to give them the chance to know who Santa is. The most rewarding part is the hugs that you get from the kids and the smiles that are on their faces.
What are some of the most common things kids are asking for this year?
For boys, the most common thing is Legos and remote-control trucks. I do get a lot of (requests for) Nintendo Switches. For the girls, it is LOL Dolls or LOL Surprise. LOL is big this year.

What are a couple of examples of highly unusual requests? 

One little girl this year asked me for a vampire. That was probably the most unusual request. I did have another little girl ask me for a credit card.
Does Santa have any favorite holiday traditions, treats or Christmas songs?

My favorite holiday tradition is music. I love to start Christmas music early because of the spirit that it gives you. My favorite treat is oatmeal raisin cookies or my niece’s Chex Mix recipe. My favorite song is Bing Crosby and David Bowie’s classic 1977 duet of “Little Drummer Boy.”

Read more: Easy 101.5 goes all Christmas, but is it too early? DJs weigh in on the best time for holiday music

What does Santa do on Dec. 26 and in the off-season?

Santa Claus visits with children during a recent appearance at a church dinner party, Cedar City, Utah, Dec. 12, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

On December 26th, Santa is with his family. The offseason goes to seeing how Christmas can be better next year.

What’s one thing about Santa that few people know? 

When the reindeer are resting and Santa needs to get around, he drives a red Ford truck. At least the real Santa does.

What does it mean to embody the spirit of Christmas, and what can everyone learn from Santa’s efforts in that regard?

I had an 8- or 9-year-old girl this year sit on my lap, and when I asked her what she would like for Christmas she said that she would like shelter for the homeless. When I asked her if she wanted anything else, she said no.

We talked for a little while, and then I gave her a candy cane and asked if she’d like one for her mother and she said yes. As she walked away she turned and said, “The reason I want shelter for the homeless is because my mom and I were homeless and I know how they feel.”

The spirit of Christmas is to give to others. It’s just not one day a year. We need to be willing to give of ourselves every day we are alive.

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Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News. He covered news, features, and sports as a part-time reporter for the Times-Independent, Moab's weekly community newspaper, and has contributed stories and photos to various other media outlets. He also taught high school English, journalism, and computer classes for 12 years, and was the school's yearbook and student newspaper adviser. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters, and also have two young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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2 Comments

  • Redbud December 21, 2018 at 10:18 am

    Santa, I’d like the Trump wall to be built for Christmas!

  • KR567 December 21, 2018 at 12:30 pm

    Santa. I would like for you to find the person
    that invented ‘auto correct’ and spell their name
    wrong on the package

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