Princeton Complete

We had a very successful Princeton Tree lighting, at least as far as the public is concerned. As my PS says, "If it ever goes according to the script, it will be a miracle!" So the miracle did not happen this year - try again next year!

This year was different, for me anyway. Usually I wait in the hotel room provided, or try to see the event from the crowd (note the word 'try' - I have not ever been in a good spot to see anything yet). This year my PS convinced me to come down with him and stand in the "VIP" section near the 'stage' entrance. (The 'stage' is actually the patio for the Nassau Inn, which overlooks the quad on Palmer Square.) So did I 'see' anything? Oh, I saw everything - from the back. Still, I got to hear everything and that is more important.

What went "wrong?" According to the script, a family sits next to a fireplace, waiting for Santa, while reading "The Night before Christmas." That was fine, as the 'Mother' and 'Father' actors had that part. But when the little girl was supposed to say her lines, a look came across her face and I really understood what they mean by "a deer in the headlights" look. She looked at the 'father,' opened her mouth and - nothing. She just kept looking at him with her mouth open, appearing to search for help or a way to run off the stage. 'Father' basically said her lines for her, in the form of questions (Do you wonder if Santa is real? Do you wonder if he will arrive soon?)

The audience of a couple of thousand people never knew what was going on, so the recovery was okay. Then my PS arrives and does not know this little girl is oozing flop-sweat, so he says his line, expecting a response (there was none), so now he is filling in her lines. Again, the audience never knows.

Now comes my Santa's moment - lighting the tree. The plan is to get the audience involved, yelling Merry Christmas louder and louder until the third time they yell, the tree lights up - or at least, that is how it works every other year. This year, my PS gets everyone to yell Merry Christmas and tree lights on the first try! Surprise! The guy with the PC controlling everything lost his timing, I guess, so the band and my PS start a rousing chorus of "Oh, Christmas Tree" with the audience. Again, unless the people come every year - and many do - they never knew the timing was wrong. Now the Princeton High School Chorus comes bounding out the door and starts to assemble on stage. Again, not in the script, as they had already entertained the crowd before the vignette. Or, if it was in the script, nobody told my PS! But he recovered, although I heard him say to the choral director "Is there enough room up here?" So the chorus sang two more songs, Santa sang with them and the audience sang along. Again, Surprise!

At this point, I am not sure what is happening. I am standing near the wind ensemble and they were caught off guard by this sudden entrance of the chorus but caught up and played the songs now being sung. The coordinator of this whole thing appears after the two surprise songs, grabs a microphone and announces from behind the chorus that the festivities are over. Surprise again!

The chorus leaves the stage, the musicians pack up and I look to see my PS being overrun by the crowd. They are waving and tugging and hugging and I know he loves it. The coordinator asks me if he will be okay and I told her he will be fine, but I am worried that he could get sick, catch some illness or whatever. So she lunges into the crowd to save my PS after about 20 minutes.

After the ceremonies, there is a little reception inside for the Palmer Square Chamber of Commerce, who sponsor this little soiree. So I go up to the room to wait, as my PS has to "press the flesh."

When he comes back to the room, he is tired, but exhilarated. So I suggest that we walk to one of the restaurants and get dinner - after he removes the Santa suit, of course. As we walk, I see a few people look at my PS as if they know him. Without the suit, he looks like a normal guy with white hair and beard, or as normal as that can be. We had a nice dinner, then come back to the hotel where a young woman is getting her two little children together to go up to the room. Something about the way she looked at my PS, again the recognition of...somebody, but this time the look turned into realization. She knew who he was, she knew he was the guy who just lit the tree, but she did not want to alert her two small children. So she looked at me and without saying a word indicated that she wanted me to help her. I said "Yes, it is." The joy on her face was amazing and she called her husband and was pointing at my PS, saying "Greg, look, just look!" Fortunately, her children never caught on. Adorable.

On the same note, while my PS was waiting to go on 'stage,' many people came up to him and asked for pictures, tell Santa what they want, etc. Those cell phones that take pictures are everywhere! Amazing. Could make a person's head swell, huh?

Another Season

Our first gig is next Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, to light the Tree in Princeton again. We are so glad that they appreciate my Santa; I know he loves to do it. It is a bit of a trek for us, but worth it. I love to see the faces of the people in the crowd as they experience the joy of the season - the 'noise' is happier once the ceremony is complete. For a brief moment, there is more civility. The next day, everything goes back to normal.

We make adaptations because of this season and my Santa's gig. For instance, since he had off from his regular job, we had our Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. We did the whole bit - all that was missing were the parades on TV. This gives us the real Thanksgiving day to pack up and get ready for Princeton, and reduces the stress in case he has to work.

We do not exchange Christmas gifts with each other. Not that we do not feel the spirit, but when we need or want something, we save up for it and buy it when it is on sale. Besides, I hate surprises! So that saves us shopping anxiety for Black Friday as well as the entire Christmas shopping season.

We work up a grid each year now, so we do not wear the same costume two years in a row to our repeat customers, unless they request it. The grid also tells us if we have received the contract back yet, the address for the gig and any other pertinent data. It has become invaluable.

There is a whole coordination of planning each year and it does not get any easier, just more recognition as to what to expect.

Princeton Tree Lighting

It is now twenty years that my PS has lit the tree at Princeton Palmer Square. We are proud of that and I think that we should be. But every year I try to watch the lighting, try to scope out a good location for pictures, video, etc. And every year I am overwhelmed by the turnout of people, and how noisy and tall they are. The stage is on the square in front of Nassau Inn - an original building from before the Revolutionary War, so not many modifications can be made to make viewing better. That explained, my PS still makes a spectacular entrance through the tavern's doors and is greeted by the crowd of 10,000.

This year, I think in honor of our longevity, the Nassau Inn gave us a room overlooking the square from the east side - 5 th floor. I finally got to see and, I hope, take decent pictures. (I used my old 35mm camera with a strong zoom, so they have to be developed.) I feel I need to say that the whole program was wonderful. There was a band to perform the Christmas songs, a high school choir to perform carols, and a little family theatre troop to recite "The Night Before Christmas." (As an aside, the original poem mentions smoking - "pipe in his teeth", etc. - we asked that to be left out, but tradition...)

All this was nice, and folksy, etc., but when it comes time for Santa, the crowd goes wild! The merchants association have a 'volunteer' (dressed as Santa) 'arrive' on the roof by shining a spotlight on him, then seconds later, my PS appears. He has the crowd in the palm of his hands, flashbulbs go off, children yell to him - amazing! Then, he says a few things about the songs and stories, but the people are here for one thing - to light that tree! So he has everyone yell "Merry Christmas" once, but, of course, they do not yell loud enough. So he has the crowd yell "Merry Christmas" again and the roar that occurs is truly deafening. I have never heard such a remarkable coordinated bellow. The tree lights up, everyone sings "Jingle Bells" and then they start filing out of the square and side streets, all boisterous and happy and excited. This must be a successful event, as the merchants gear up for it every year and there are many happy faces the next morning - the kind of happy faces that occur when they feel it is a good time to be a store owner.

So my PS does the same thing every year - the two 'attempts' at lighting, the magical appearance, etc. But the crowds would not be there if they did not like it. And this year a line up of children formed at the bottom of the stage to see Santa, give him their lists, tell him their wants, etc. Usually the merchants association wants to wrap up the festivities, pack up the equipment and get back to normal. But this year they waited for Santa to visit with the children. It truly was a magical evening.

Marketing

It is the end of July, so that makes it the start of Marketing Season! We have to get the word out in our new home area so we can get more gigs up here in North East PA.

We have plenty of work available back in Princeton. Our regular customers have already started calling to book for the 2008 Holiday Season, but we want to establish ourselves up here. That means new business cards and postcards (the postcards work best for local super markets and other stores), contacting local party planners, and taking advantage of every opportunity to get our name out there. My Santa is going on the radio for a 'Christmas in July' gig so he can promote himself. The good thing about this is no suit - and so we do not have to worry about how hot it is!

I try to get a new picture each year, so anyone we gave a card to last year remembers him, and yet it is new! Marketing! We also set up a new web site: visitsfromsanta.spaces.live.com - anything to get the face out there. Marketing! And, of course, since he has the white beard and hair, people see him as Santa all year anyway.

Princeton

As I write this, we are getting 6 to 10 inches of snow. Appropriate for Christmas, but can be miserable for getting to a gig. But more on that later. The Lighting of the Christmas Tree in Princeton, NJ went wonderfully well. Ten to fifteen thousand people all watching my PS, as well as a band, dancers - a great show! This year there was a script with elves played by the local high school thespians and more lights than ever. Beautiful night, cool, not too cold. After leading the crowd in the counting down to the lighting, Santa leaves and all the spectators go about the real business of Christmas = Shopping! But this year several families followed Santa off stage to tell him how much they enjoyed the show and to get pictures with Santa. This is the first time in the over ten years my PS has been doing the tree lighting that this has happened!

Now, what does Ms Claus do during all this? I hide in the hotel room and watch the festivities from the window. Not that I do not have the Holiday Spirit, but I know my PS - he needs to keep his mind on what he is doing and not have to worry about me in the crowd. Besides, I have noticed that sometimes he drops character around me, and we cannot have that happen!

Thanksgiving

November 22, 2007

Thanksgiving to a Professional Santa (PS) is the real start to the busy season. Some PS's work this day, particularly for parades (think Macy's). Can be a grueling day, but very exciting and rewarding.

In our case, the day after the holiday is very big, for it means lighting the tree in Princeton, NJ. Last year the count was 10,000 people watching one guy in a red suit turn on a tree. But it is much more than that - choirs singing, bands, getting the crowd to count down to the moment of the tree lighting. The people who run this show in Princeton know that having Santa there brings the crowds - and the money.

And we can honestly say that the real start for this PS was working in Princeton. It started almost 20 years ago being the weekend Santa walking around Palmer Square in the costume from A Christmas Carol - the Ghost of Christmas Past. That costume was a very authentic and heavy, being all fur and so long that it swept the ground. If it was a warm winter day, it was unbearably hot. If it rained, it dragged. If it snowed, well, that was okay - warm and cozy. Speaking as Ms Claus, this when I realized that my Santa needed lighter weight costumes, or at least a selection for the weather conditions.

Anyway, the people who had hired him liked how my Santa handled crowds and customers and offered to let him light the tree the next year. How wonderful, as my Santa loves being the center of attention. That first year he did not come down off that high for a week! And he still gets excited about this event.

So we are making the three-hour drive down to Princeton again tomorrow. We have moved away from NJ this year, but there is a commitment to go back. It is supposed to be clear and cold and possibly snowy - perfect!