Sudbury man attends professional Santa school
You often hear of Christmas in July and while the holiday is still months away, Santa and his helpers are already making preparations for the festive season.
Chris Elzinga of Sudbury gathered with a group of other North Pole ambassadors in Newmarket last weekend for a two-day professional Santa training workshop.
Chris Elzinga of Sudbury has been portraying Santa for almost 20 years. (Supplied)
Elzinga has been playing the jolly old elf for years in the Nickel City and wanted to "up his Santa game" as he nears retirement, he told CTV News in an interview.
The course was taught by a Santa professional from Charlotte, N.C., and teaches skills "that might seem like they're straightforward, but there is a lot of information that Santas can use … to make themselves more entertaining and also more believable for the children."
Elzinga said he started playing Santa almost 20 years ago for a children's Christmas party and has been able to represent St. Nick at various events and shows in the city ever since then.
Chris Elzinga gets ready to attend a professional Santa training course. (Supplied)
It was his wife that encouraged him to take the pro Santa workshop, he said.
Armed with a binder full of history and details about Santa, he and the other participants learned about beard and wardrobe standards, as well as how to do the iconic "ho, ho, ho" laugh properly.
Professional Santa from Charlotte, N.C. (centre), came up to Newmarket, Ont., to teach a group of Santa's to 'up their game.' (Chris Elzinga)
Among the group taking the weekend course with him was a retired cop who is intending to become Ontario's first Black Santa, Elzinga said.
Other things learned in the course included how to talk to children and how to handle children who are crying or frightened.
During the course, one of his fellow North Pole ambassadors was called to an "emergency" at a popular Huntsville Christmas-themed park where another Santa had gotten sick. Luckily, his outfit was ready and he was able to dash away to step in.
While most parents want the perfect photo of their child smiling while sitting on Santa's lap, he said it is important to make sure the child is comfortable and happy and not to force it.
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