What does Santa Claus do during his 11-month off-season? You might be surprised to know that for the last 10 years, he and his elves have been responsible for the neatly trimmed shrubs and many of the colorful flower beds here at FPC Marietta. How did the owner of a 27-year-old landscaping business become Santa? It began about 7 years ago at an Atlanta United fan appreciation event for season ticket holders, a group that includes none other than Santa Cesar Janeira himself. Santa Cesar always loved Christmas and decorating for Christmas, and that fateful night at Mercedes Benz Stadium among the crowd of fans, he saw Santa walking toward him in street clothes. One high five and a short conversation later, he was holding the business card of Santa Rick Rosenthal who runs the Northern Lights Santa Academy in Atlanta and who had recognized the potential of Cesar’s fabulous smile just above the short white beard on his face. After thoughtful consideration Cesar began growing out his beard and enrolled in the next session of the academy and has attended each year since then because the value of the continuing education program is important to Santa success, as measured by the joy he brings to children.
The academy has classes for Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, and their helper elves. At the academy courses range from improv theatre to strategies for successfully sharing Santa’s joy with children with varying degrees of disabilities including autism. They role play different scenarios and have breakout sessions to share and unpack successful and unsuccessful encounters with children. What do you tell a child who wants you to heal a terminally ill parent? Do you promise a child a puppy on Christmas morning? How do you ensure children leave happy without telling them to expect all 25 presents on their Christmas list? Santa is taught not to use the loud, hearty “Ho, ho, ho!” you might have heard in movies. Santa is already big and intimidating; adding a noisy laugh does not enhance a child’s security. At the academy Santa learns to start with a gentle chuckle and let that evolve into a happy, but not too loud “Ho, ho, ho,” that can then fade away.
Each November as Thanksgiving approaches, Santa Cesar kicks off the All Christmas, All the Time music at 104.7 The Fish. Santa Cesar can be found frequently in November and December at a Gainesville photography studio where he will be photographed over 10,000 times in a single weekend. For holiday events at the Battery, you will find him in Santa’s post office accepting letters from children. He is Santa for events at East Cobb Avenue. The Avenue is the site of a meeting with a child that left him with tears overflowing. He was waiting for the start of his encounters with children at the Pottery Barn when his set manager told him that a mother had a special request. Her 7-year-old son is immune-compromised and could not mingle with crowds waiting to visit Santa. The child is blind and nonverbal with physical disabilities. Santa Cesar said he would be delighted to meet the boy at the sleigh in the middle of the Avenue. He donned gloves as requested for the medically fragile boy, so the boy could hold his hand, which is how he interacts with others. Santa sat next to the boy and talked to him for about 10 minutes and afterward the mother handed him a note she had written on behalf of her son that began, “Dear Santa, I have waited all my life to meet you,…” The emotional impact of that experience and the mother’s message left Santa Cesar thankful that he had waited to read the note after meeting the other children that day.
Santa Cesar has several Sneak-a-Peak events scheduled Christmas eve. He will enter someone’s home at the designated time and the parents will have their children in sight of the Christmas tree so they will be able to see but not talk to Santa at work distributing the gifts and eating and drinking the provided cookies and milk. Santa Cesar was selected to be one of 50 Santas from an initial group of 400, whose photographs are in a recently published book. This month he will be on the cover of Cobb Life Magazine. He has even had a role in the movie, “Santa School,” which can be found on Amazon Prime.
Santa Cesar is fluent in three languages and knows some sign language. He maintains his beard and wears Santa glasses all year, so he is constantly aware of his surroundings, since he could be photographed at any time. He carries trinkets with him because he never knows when one might be needed. Being Santa changed Cesar’s habits and personality. If he decides to have an alcoholic beverage, he drinks privately at home. If you overhear him when he is out and about, you will hear only polite language. If he sees a child having a meltdown in a store, he might saunter over. Usually when a child sees him, the tantrum evaporates as the awe begins. Santa Cesar might ask what is going on and suggest that he is watching for good boys and girls and that this child seems to be struggling with his behavior. But, if the child is able to take control of his or her feelings, he will ask Bernard, his chief elf, to cross this tantrum off the naughty list and let the child start over fresh. Usually, a much quieter store remains as Santa walks away from the child and appreciative parents.
Each Santa must create his own backstory and answers to children’s probing questions and make use of improv training when unexpected questions arise. Private visits require even more preparation because of more opportunities for questions. Santa Cesar carries fairy dust in his bag on these occasions. Red fairy dust allows the reindeer to fly, green helps him get down chimneys or through doors, blue allows him to manipulate time, and yellow refills his bag. You didn’t think he could carry all the presents for all the children at once, did you? Cesar’s answer to the inevitable pet question is that he used to carry puppies and kittens in his sleigh, but they kept trying to jump out which caused all kinds of problems, so he had to stop bringing them. He tells the child they should talk with their parents about whether they are responsible enough for all the work required for having a pet, and if they agree the child is responsible, Santa suggests they might select one from the local animal shelter. For a child who asks Santa to help with a family crisis such as frequently arguing parents or a family member’s illness, Santa Cesar will ask the child if it would be all right to say a little prayer together, and most children accept that answer.
So, during Advent this December if you are at church on a Friday and find yourself rubbing your eyes because you think you are seeing a Santa mirage, it may be the very real Santa Cesar, and you might thank him for taking care of all that magic for you this Christmas. And if you want to know if there is any downside to being Santa Claus, Santa Cesar would say, “you no longer have time to hang all your Christmas decorations.”
Nancy Jo Kirk