He checks his beard in the mirror every morning before leaving the house to take a seat on his magical throne. After all, even a single out-of-place hair could plant a seed of doubt in the minds of the hundreds of children who will visit him in a single day.
He may not be the one and only, but the Santa you see sitting before you in the local mall is far from phony.
In fact, according to most mall managers, without Santa, the holidays would not be complete. And many parents agree that being able to bring their children to see the jolly red elf year after year is a favorite holiday tradition.
While the beards and suits and boots may be the same, not all Santas are created equal.
According to Jimmy Valentino, owner of Capital Photo, a special event photography business, the Santa you see at the mall sometimes comes from the most unlikely of places.
Valentino’s company has been responsible for bringing Santa to Crossgates Mall for the past 22 years, and Colonie Center for the past five.
His employees come from throughout the community, and most of them seek out Valentino for the seasonal job.
They come just from the general public. A lot of them have found me over the years, said Valentino. `I have one — he’s a professor emeritus at RPI.`
Valentino said that many of his Santas are either retired or looking for something to do on the side during the holidays. Some, like the former professor John Corelli of New Scotland, look at their work as a way to reach out to the community in a way that will affect many people. (See sidebar to read about a day in his life as Santa.)
According to Becky Valenti, marketing manager for Rotterdam Square Mall in Rotterdam, having Santa at the mall encourages young children to come to the shopping center, which adds to the magic of the holiday season.
`We love to see the small children come in,` she said. `I think it really adds a lot during Christmas time.`
The impact Santa’s presence has at the mall is great, according to many who are able to witness the magic first-hand.
`It really is all about the experience,` said Sara Boniface, marketing director for Crossgates Mall. `Typically, shopping centers and mall developers go with a corporate company, and we’ve chosen to go with Capital Photo for this long because of the experience they bring.`
Boniface said having a local company handle such a special holiday event is rare, and Crossgates is glad Capital Photo is able to do it.
The whole holiday experience is the main reason Valentino got in the Santa business.
Valentino, who once worked as a photographer for state Sen. Tarky Lombardi, said he gained an interest in Santa photography after hearing about it from fellow photographers.
`The rest is sort of history,` he said.
Valentino said he knew when he started his business, which he runs out of his home in Latham, that he wanted to create a Disney-like experience for customers who come for a photo with Santa.
`The truth is that there are Santas everywhere this time of year, but we’re really not just selling photos,` he said.
Boniface credited Valentino’s employees as always having `real beards,` but Valentino said appearance is not the most important thing.
`That is much less important than the quality of the individual in terms of bringing this character to life,` he said.
For the managers at Colonie Center, the area where Santa sits is also important in creating a festive experience for visitors.
According to Joe Millett, general manager of Colonie Center, `This year, the Santa display is down by L.L. Bean. All of our dEcor is brand new; it’s really lovely.`
Millett said that in addition to the Santa setup, which includes a 35-foot tree, Colonie Center also has an Angel Tree, where shoppers can pick a name and buy a gift for a child in need.
There is a business side to the whole endeavor, too, and the business, according to Boniface, is what actually brings Santa to the mall.
Boniface said Capital Photo, or any other business that takes photos of children with Santa, seeks out the mall; the mall does not seek out Santa.
Capital Photos offers different rates for different sized photos of children with Santa. But purchasing a photograph is not necessary for visiting with Santa. In fact, it is not even the main priority for Valentino’s business.
`If we worry less about if people are buying and we put the emphasis on the experience, we become less commercial more experience oriented,` he said. `The more that we play down the commercial aspect of it, the more successful it is. And for us, we really try to preserve that sort of magical time in a child’s life. For us, we really try to remember that first. The families really appreciate that.`
Family values and traditions are what keep Santa coming to the mall every year. But Valentino said he struggles to keep the tradition alive in a bleak economy.
`So many traditions are sort of falling by the wayside. We really do make an effort to give somebody some value for what they’re getting, and that’s been the foundation for what we do,` he said. `I need for my own personal self to know that we make a wholesome effort to make people feel the best they can be.`
A visit to Santa can be a source of relief for parents as well, particularly those who do not have the slightest idea of what to buy their child for the holidays.
All they have to do is visit their nearest mall or holiday event where Santa will be, wait patiently in line with their child in a wintery wonderland and pay very close attention as their son or daughter whispers to Santa the most perfect present they could ever receive.
SIDEBAR: A chat with Santa
By Ariana Cohn, Spotlight Staff
When it comes to Christmas gift requests, Santa has heard it all. In an exclusive interview with Spotlight Newspapers, Santa discussed some of this year’s wackiest wants.
Question: What is the strangest thing a child has asked you for this year?
Answer: Snakes and little newts. This one little girl said she wanted a snake. I said, `Oh, a stuffed one?` She said, `No. I want a live one.`
Q: What did you say to the little girl who wanted the snake?
A: I said that I am going to try [to get it for her]. I never say no. I always say I will try to do it.
Q: Any other unusual requests?
A: There’s another little girl — all she wanted was a telescope. She said she wanted to be an astronaut.
Q: What are some things that have been popular this season that kids have asked for?
A: I had a 16-year-old that told me she wanted an automobile. Some other interesting gifts I’ve had 4- and 5-year-olds that told me they wanted a cell phone! There are a lot of electronics this year. The iPods are quickly selling. I don’t know if it will happen that every [child] who asked for one will get one.
Q: What about children who ask for non-material things?
A: Once in a while I get those asking for a brother that’s sick. And the brother comes with the child, and he may be ill. Some of them are in wheelchairs and I ask the mother if I can pray for them and I do that.
Santa stays busy, visiting Crossgates Mall and Colonie Center all holiday season long. But while he is away, he never forgets about his family back home, at the North Pole.
`Mrs. Klaus — she’s home. This year she doesn’t have her horse, so she’s just doing some housework this time of the year,` Santa said.
As for the reindeer, Santa said they relax in his backyard while he is visiting the children. He also made sure to mention his most favorite reindeer of all.
`Rudolph is my favorite. Rudolph is universally known, and he is the one who was the guiding light for the sleigh.“
