Page 9 of Santas' Elf

I switched the memory card, reconnected to the laptop where parents could preview the photos and confirm what they wanted, then checked on Pete.

The twinkle in his eyes was back, and I knew it was ok for the kids to start again. I nodded to the handler and readied myself as a shy-looking little girl was led to Pete’s lap.

I couldn’t protect the sweet man from the disappointment of crying children, but I could help him recover from it. And that would have to do.

∞∞∞

Warren’s back was bothering him again. It was clear in the wince he made as he set the excited little boy down at the end of the session.

He glanced up and rolled his shoulders.

I nodded. It was his sign that he needed a moment to stand and stretch.

I turned to the line and put on a huge grin. “Hey everybody! You wanna know a secret?”

All the kids turned to me and almost in unison shouted ‘Yeah!’

“Santa told me that Rudolph loves hearing his song. Now Rudolph is helping the elves at the North Pole today, but I bet he’ll still hear it if we sing. Who wants to sing Rudolph’s song with me?”

Easily a hundred tiny hands shot up and I laughed.

“Ok!” I bounced slightly. “Now song magic works better if you dance a bit. So let’s sing and dance for Rudolph!”

The kids twirled, bounced, and swayed side-to-side as we sang, and I clapped enthusiastically as the song ended.

“Great job everybody!” I called out. “I’m sure Rudolph heard you. But now, listen very carefully…”

All the kids’ eyes were locked on me.

“We need to keep that song special for Rudolph. You know how the first piece of candy tastes good, but you get a tummyache if you eat too much?”

A bunch of tiny nods.

“It’s like that with special songs too. One is a treat. Too many and it loses the magic. It’s ok to sing to Rudolph once in a while, but you want his song to stay special. A couple times a day until Christmas is ok, but more than that and it won’t have the same magic.”

I held one finger to my lips. “That’s why Rudolph loving his song is a secret. Santa wants to make sure that it’s still magical every time he hears it.”

A chorus of “Oooh!” and “I won’t sing too much!” arose from the children, while parents gave me relieved looks, knowing that I hadn’t just doomed them to hearing the Rudolph song sung on repeat until Christmas.

Or I’d at least given them a reason to remind the kids to stop.

I glanced at a small mirror I’d hidden in the decor and saw Warren readjusting his coat on the chair.

“Oops!” I squeaked in an exaggerated tone. “Santa needs me to take pictures again. But I bet you’ll all have big smiles when I see you on his lap because you’ll know you made Rudolph’s day just a bit more magical. Right?”

“Yes!” shouted back a bunch of kids.

I positioned myself behind the camera again, but couldn’t miss the thankful glance that Warren shot my way.

∞∞∞

There wasn’t a single moment I could point to as the one that made me start falling for Pete and Warren. It was more the cumulative effect of their smiles and their sweetness.

Some rational part of me argued that it was part of the act. They had to be Santa as soon as they put on the costume, and dropping that mask for even a minute could result in the magic being ruined for a child—even when it was assumed no children were around. But I still got glimpses of who they were underneath the holly-jolly persona.

Pete was an idealist at heart. He asked kids to tell him what their new favorite games were—in case the elves had missedsomething. His hugs lingered just a second longer—as if he was cherishing each child.

Warren was more practical. He wanted to celebrate good deeds with the children. He praised things like sharing and being kind to others—reminding the kids that being a good person was one of the best ways to stay on the ‘nice’ list. Almost every child left with a high-five from Santa after delivering a story of how they’d worked to make the world a better place.