"Santa and I get to spread love, peace and joy each year to thousands of children and adults alike."
Purveyors of Joy
Written by Kitty St. Ives, aka Mrs. Claus
When you think about it, "Joy" is a gift that you can bestow freely to someone that both enhance the receiver as well as the giver. As a very young child, I wanted to grow up and bring joy to as many people as possible. At the age of five, I told my mother and my aunt, "When I grew up, I am going to marry Santa Claus because he brings so much joy to so many people." And I wanted to be a part of that spirit of giving. When they laughed at me, I would stomp my feet and say, " I will be married to Santa someday, you"ll see." My aunt was particularly amused because her husband, my Uncle Bill, always played Santa for our family. As I cared for my mother with Alzheimer’s, I must say that she is the one that taught me about joy. She taught me that there could be joy even in a difficult health situation such as this. It was a struggle taking care of her but she would say the funniest things that would just erupt into belly laughter for the both of us. When she was passing, I told her that she was a saint and I knew she was going straight to heaven. I asked her, "When you get to heaven will you ask God to send me a good Christian man?" Not more than a few weeks after she passed away JD, my present husband, walked into my life. It was love at first sight.
He was different from any other man that I had ever met. He was an extremely handsome man, who was kind, intelligent, compassionate and loved children. His blue eyes, how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry! His little round cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! He had a droll little mouth beneath his snow white beard and his hair was as white as the new fallen snow! I knew in a moment that he could be St. Nick! So I asked him, "Have you ever thought about being Santa?" He said in a jolly, deep voice, "Well, I've played biblical characters but I have never thought about playing St. Nick."
The very next day I rushed down to JC Penny and bought him a deluxe red velvet Santa suit with plush white fur trim. I hurried home to wrap it and presented it to him that night. I handed him a big red box that was tied up with a bow. He said, "What is this?" I told him to tear off the wrapping and open it. When he opened it, the look on his face was priceless! I encouraged him to put on the suit. When he put on the suit a metamorphous took place and he became Santa as he gazed at himself in the mirror. It was awesome to watch! When I discovered that he had an awesome baritone voice and loved to sing, I asked him if he would like me to start booking some gigs for him. He was delighted. So I booked him at a few retirement homes in San Diego. Of course, the very first one was the Alzheimer's Day Care Center that had taken such good care of my mother. Both the staff as well as the residents were absolutely smitten with the "Singing Santa". They started inquiring whether he was married. I had to tell them that he was engaged and that I was the lucky gal. I knew he was the gift that I had asked my mother to ask God to send me. He knew I was the one that he had been praying for. We were so in love with each other. Every year at Christmas time, we renew our vows in our costumes in a new and unique place. We rededicate our love for each other and ask God to bless our marriage each new year.
Now Santa owns Santa's Barber Shop in Rogue River, Oregon and I'm a talent agent, graphic designer, writer and photographer. I've always wanted to sing and entertain. When I saw how much fun Santa was having, I had to purchase a Mrs. Claus costume and joined in on the fun.
We starred in a movie called "Santa Sing-A-long" produced and directed by Joe Wheeler. The movie is full of the old time favorite Christmas carols as well as some holiday trivia for the young and the young at heart. (It is available on this web site) If you play the movie before Santa & I arrive, it just validates us as the real deal.
Santa and I like to think of ourselves as "Purveyors of Joy." In our wildest dreams, we cannot think of a better job. Santa and I get to spread love, peace and joy each year to thousands of children and adults alike. You couldn't possible know the kind of joy we receive back unless you put on the red suits yourselves.