Can you say catch up?

Hey there!

Okay, now I know the "Talent " is a great guy, but even I am impressed. Today we saw 187 people in a short shift. Last year we saw 84 in the same time period. That is an increase of 103, so let's just forget about the little oops from yesterday (down by 14) because we pounded that back! Or as Chris Smith said, "We got Slammed" plus we were short staffed. People were lined up down the hall. We also saw a few dogs - a huge Black Lab and a Border Collie pup.

A couple of funny things happened...

1. A HUGE Black Great Dane (it looked like a horse, no joke) came to see me...lol. The big chicken was really scared of Santa, and would not come within 3 feet of me. The owners told Santa they were concerned how he would react. I was surprised they said that AFTER the horse was close to me. But one of the owners stood between me and the dog the whole time.

2. Well the other thing happened with elf Courtney. During a short break, she and I got accidentally locked in Santa's Workshop together. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we were locked in. We tried knocking on the door and yelling, but nobody came. So Courtney used her cell phone and called the front end of the store. One of the lead tellers came over in a few minutes and opened the door for us. She thought it was a joke, but nope!

Now before anybody gets in a lather, while I was on a break elf Courtney came in to get some Santa stickers. I had the door situated in such a way that I could get out. But when elf Courtney came in, the door closed and locked behind her. Crazy elves!

Before I go much farther I want to give a Get Well shout out to AnnaMarie. She is the head HR person at this BPS who got sick with the H1N1 flu, which has now developed into full pneumonia. Let's all hope she gets well really soon.

As for the rest of the day, it was as normal as it could be. We had a lot of kids, many who were just too scared to see Santa up close even when they were excited before at a farther distance. But at least they tried.

I was asked today what the oddest reaction is that I get from the kids. Well, it is not what most people think. The simple majority of them pass gas in my lap because of nerves. I can tell just before most of them do it because they start clenching their butt muscles. Toddlers in diapers just lose bodily function in one or two areas (if you know what I mean). It's always a strange feeling when Santa gets a warm feeling on his leg. But to date, no accidents on the Big Guy and I want to keep that record going.

The picture above is just a cutie with Santa having a talk...

Santa has a very long day tomorrow (12 hrs) so I had better get some sleep.

Sweet dreams,

Santa