Ah New York, it has missed me!

Hello everyone!

I was picked up at the hotel promptly at 7:15am on Friday to head up to NY for FOX & FRIENDS on Saturday morning. We arrived at about noon to get ready. Bass Pro Shops had people there from Harrisburg, PA; Springfield, MO; and New York, NY to set up and take down the set. I am not allowed to help because I am the "Talent."

So after hanging out for awhile and having lunch with the Harrisburg crew, I thought it would be a good time for me to take a walk. I did the basic walking tour of Time Square and the general surroundings. Santa really likes to people watch - you know, put the people with the names on the lists. Let Santa tell it to you this way, on a normal Friday afternoon Time Square is like swarming ants. But toss in a Ticker Tape Parade for the Yankees and you have pure chaos in the ant colony! There were sooo many people, it is really hard to describe.

After my walk I was told I could head to the hotel (which was 10 blocks away). The room was nice, but there was construction going on two floors below, so it was not very restful. Despite the lack of sleep, I was up and ready for my walk back to the set at 5:00am, and I had to be ready to go on at 6:30am. Not to disappoint, the "Talent" was ready and waiting his call. I stayed in the green room until the children (6) arrived and then I slipped into the tent and we were "off to the races."

I had two great 5-6 year olds on my lap for quite awhile and they did really well. One of the girls during a break leaned back into Santa and said, "You're warm and soft, and I'm sleepy." Shortly after that, a staff person came and handed out blankets to the kids. (It was only 40 degrees out.)

The three hours went by very fast - mostly due to a condensed set and the great kids. When the kids were not on set they went back to warm up in the green room and I went outside and worked the crowd. There always seems to be people who just hang out at sets!? There was one group of young soccer players who just finished with a studio tour; and, of course, I let them have a picture with Santa. (Much to the Security's dirty looks, I let them inside to take a picture with me on the Set...You don't mess with Santa.)

The crew from Bass Pro was fast with the take down of the set. They had it apart and loaded on the truck in 2 hours and we headed on our way back 10 minutes later.

Tomorrow we start the real thing boys and girls! From 3pm-8pm Santa will be working his magic.

Have a great night's sleep.

Santa Joe