A day in the life of Santa Claus
David Hogue, a resident of Riverton, has dressed up as Santa Claus for the past 15 years. As a former member of the state Legislature, many individuals would never guess Hogue spent his free time as the man in the big red suit. But according to Hogue, it is something he stumbled into and has enjoyed ever since.
“I was asked to fill in for a Santa at the ZCMI Mall several years ago,” Hogue said. “It was a lot of fun and it just seemed to stick with me.”
Hogue has had at least 200 children sit on his lap at one setting, and he said that can become difficult.
“It becomes difficult when you have everyone sitting on your lap and each parent wants a picture of that child while he or she is on your lap. Plus, I can become very thirsty, and it is nearly impossible to drink through the beard I wear,” Hogue said.
But aside from sore legs, playing the role of Santa Claus can bring many other mishaps, from wardrobe malfunctions to disasters with the North Pole backdrops and Santa’s chair.
“I remember a night when I was playing Santa in a building that was very warm,” Hogue said. “The entire night my glasses kept fogging up and I could not see a thing.”
Other wardrobe calamities have included the time when Hogue was in his Santa outfit and the elastic that holds up his beard broke. Consequently, his beard kept dropping down for the remainder of the night.
Hogue also said he remembers a night when it was not a wardrobe mishap that caused problems, but it was the Santa chair he was sitting in.
“I was being Santa at a place that had a really deep seat on the chair,” he said. “I sat down in the chair, and when I tried to get up I couldn’t. I had to have someone come and pull me out.”
However, aside from many misfortunes that have occurred while portraying Santa Claus, Hogue said many touching moments have also happened.
One night as Hogue was portraying Santa Claus, he said he had one very special kid tell him his Christmas wishes.
“A young boy came and sat on my lap,” Hogue said. “I asked him what he wanted for Christmas, and he told me he wanted to get well. I could tell he was sick. You could see he had lost his hair and had received chemotherapy.”
This young boy and Hogue talked for a few minutes, and the boy then asked Hogue a question that caught him a little off guard, Hogue said.
“The boy asked me if I knew he was sick, and I told him that I did,” Hogue said.
Hogue later received word that this young boy’s mother had contacted the mall and told them how Santa had comforted her son.
“His mom said that the boy was thrilled that her son got to talk to Santa,” he said. “It made this little boy’s day to know that Santa knew he was sick. Just the fact that he got to talk to Santa, and that he wanted to see Santa so badly to ask him to make him well, made it one of the most touching moments I have experienced.”
Hogue said acting as Santa does not only require him to pass out candy canes and wish children a merry Christmas.
“As Santa, you have to keep up on what the popular toys are,” he said. “I have had kids ask me for new cars and new houses. I get questions all the time like where the reindeer are because the kids did not see them outside, or what the North Pole is like. You have to be prepared to answer any type of question thrown at you.”
One of Hogue’s favorite parts of playing Santa is when he randomly will call a child by their correct name, he said.
“The kids are so surprised when I say, ‘Oh, here’s Johnny,’ and their name really is Johnny,” Hogue said. “I often will even have parents come up and tell me their child’s name beforehand just so I get it right and the child will get even more excited.”
Parents also help Hogue play Santa Claus sometimes by giving him a present to give to the children, he said.
“Some parents will hand me presents to give to their child of something the kid has asked for,” Hogue said. “Especially at the family parties, the parents will give me presents beforehand for me to stick into my bag.”
Children’s expressions and excitement is what has kept Hogue going for all these years.
“To watch the kids’ expressions and see their faces is what this is all about,” Hogue said. “It is this time of year and to see the kids having a good time and getting excited is probably my favorite part. When the kids see Santa, they all clamor and run around and get excited, and you can hear that excitement in their voices.”
-courtnie.packer@aggiemail.usu.edu