Thank you for selecting Santa Ross for your Central California Holiday event. To help you in making your visit with Santa a most enjoyable time, we have prepared the following list of suggestions. Items 1 through 5 should be done well before Santa arrives.
- Have your camera ready:
Make sure that your cameras are charged & ready to go to take the photos you want - Reserve a special parking spot for Santa:
It should be right up where he is visiting.
If the visit is at your home, leave an opening at end of your driveway. Put a temporary barrier in the space. Have some fun and put a sign out “Reserved for Santa!” If your event is at a company facility, office building or hotel, try to make arrangements for Santa to park in a valet or loading area. - Have your gifts ready to go:
Santa does not bring any candy canes or gifts with him. He will happily hand out your candy and gifts and can carry in one bag of presents (40 lbs. or less) for children or guests. They should be well labeled with the name. We suggest a large black marking pen and writing directly on the gift, as tags can easily fall off. All packages should fit into one 35-gallon trash bag. He will then transfer the gifts to his “Santa Toy” bag. If you have more gifts than will fit in his bag, Santa will usually ask a couple of the ‘big kids’ (adults) to be honorary Elves and instruct them to bring in the extra gifts. - Have a special chair for Santa:
Folding chairs, plastic chairs, and low chairs (the one’s you sink into) are not good. Santa likes a chair that is sturdy and stable. A good, sturdy straight-back dining chair with no arms works well. He should be able to sit comfortably with the chair supporting him plus a child on each knee. - Place the chair in a holiday setting:
Maybe in front of a decorated wall or any festive type of Backdrop that will express the holiday season. Leave a foot or two between the chair and the tree or wall. This will allow room for others to gather around and behind Santa’s chair for group photos. - Get everyone together before Santa arrives:
Timing is everything. Santa’s scheduled time begins the minute he arrives. If everyone is scattered around the house or office, you lose valuable visit time. Santa should call you when he is five minutes away from arriving. That’s your cue to have someone go outside to meet Santa & for you to get everyone together and maybe to sing some Christmas Carols. If Santa is to bring in presents, the person meeting him can help him fill his toy bag. Then, at the right moment, Santa can pop in and join everyone in the singing. If you have a large group of children to see Santa, you should assign someone to be Santa’s helper and coordinate the children as they each visit Santa. - Think about photos with everyone:
Teenagers will shy away or think it is too childish to have a photo with Santa. Don’t worry; Santa can stand up for a “buddy” photo. What about grandma and grandpa? Take a photo with Santa & Grandma hugging. - Donations or payments:
If there is a donation or payment due to Santa place it inside a Christmas card or envelope. It never looks appropriate when someone gives cash to Santa. So, as Santa is departing, hand him the envelope and say, “Thank you Santa, and here is a Christmas card from all of us”. - Santa never breaks from his character:
ALWAYS address Santa as “ Santa” Don’t ask questions about when he started playing Santa or where did he get his costumes. It’s very important that you treat Santa Ross as Santa Claus and not as someone that plays Santa Claus. Please help keep the wonder of Christmas for your children and others. - Santa may need a fan & water as well:
An indoor event can get very warm and crowded. As Santa is wearing a heavy suit, he can get over heated. Having a small fan placed near where he is to sit and aiming at his upper body does wonders. - Santa will not lift, handle or carry any child:
Parents should take their child to Santa, or place and remove a small infant from Santa’s arms. - Make sure that all faces and hands of the kids are clean:
Cookies & candy are yummy but can be messy & sticky. Have a batch of wipes available along with a trash container nearby. - No Smoking around Santa:
Santa also prefers NOT to be around cigarette, e-cig or cigar smoke as it smells up his suit for his other visits.