Professional Santas uphold tradition from the heart

• Every Santa has to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside
• That ho-ho-ho? They learn the ropes in Santa school
• Pay is $40 to $100 an hour; the job is seasonal

BIRMINGHAM, Mich. — Sure, there are cookies and candy canes, hot cocoa and ho-ho-hos.

But being a professional Santa can also mean dealing with dirty diapers.

"I've had someone come to me with an absolute load in the pants. I wanted to exercise my opportunity to breathe though my mouth as much as I could," said Santa Roger Weyersberg, who is 61, lives in the small town of Owosso, Mich., between Lansing and Fling and travels to jobs with an extra suit and a can of Febreze so he is prepared for such situations.

"The mom apologized," he said.

Being a professional Santa also can mean dealing with lonely ladies.

"People have tried to pick up Santa," said Santa Roland Davenport, 47, of Ann Arbor, Mich., who works a number of private parties during the season. "For a 347-pound man — and last year I was heavier than that — it's amazing they're interested."

And then there's the hair problem.

Such is the life of Santa, who is in the midst of his busiest time of the holiday season.

With just two days left before Christmas, bazillions of kids are expected to line up for last-minute visits with the jolly old elf.

Santa will be at malls.

Santa will be at holiday parties.

Santa Mike Short — who is 61, lives in Westland, Mich., in suburban Detroit, works as a videographer for Ford and serves as Birmingham, Mich.'s official Santa — will hold court in that town's Santa House in Shain Park.

He will probably smell like peppermint, as he makes a practice of dabbing peppermint oil on his temples and his beard.

Not only does it make him smell like Christmas, it acts as an anti-viral, he said, adding, "Any little trick to keep breathing all the way through the season."

Turning a man into Santa takes more than a red suit — and in some cases, a bit of padding.

"The total package is a Santa who not only looks good as Santa but would sound like a good Santa if you couldn't see him," said Jacqueline Harbin, president of Promotional Network Inc., a Berkley, Mich.-based company that books Santas. They earn $40 to $100 an hour, depending on the length and profile of the assignment.

"Those are the things you have to look at — someone who will make you feel warm and fuzzy inside," Harbin said. "And I want somebody who's quick on their feet. What do you say if a child says, 'The only thing I want for Christmas is for daddy to come home?' It can mean daddy's in the service or mommy and daddy are divorced or daddy has passed away."

"Santa has got to do this from his heart," she said.

The men who take on roles as professional Santas tend to have many things in common.

They tend to know each other — in part because many of them attend the nonprofit Charles W. Howard Santa School in Midland, Mich., where they learn Santa history, songs and how to ho-ho-ho.

"They bring a voice coach in to teach us how to ho-ho-ho. That's one reason why professional Santas ho-ho-ho the same way," said Santa Roland Davenport, a lawyer who is a graduate of the internationally recognized school and appears at 20 to 30 Santa events a season.

But no one really knows how many Santas exist.

Because of their familiarity and also as a show of respect, they call each other Santa — as in Santa Robert, Santa Roger, Santa Mike.

Most of the Santas are large in stature and fairly strong.

"Even though I'm way out of shape, huffing and puffing 3- or 400 pounds around, I can lift children all afternoon and not have a problem," said Santa Roland, who has wanted to be Santa since he was 18- or 19 years old.

"We've got to be, to a degree, physically fit," said Santa Roger, a retired band director who began lifting weights when he assumed the role of Santa nine years ago.

"Santa is a strong persona," said Santa Roger, who is stationed for the season at Genesee Valley Mall in Flint, Mich., and makes appearances at other events. "He's a strong man. He lifts toys, he builds sleighs, he lifts children. I'm a large man — 6-foot 3 and over 300 pounds — but I try to stay physically fit within that."

As a group, Santas like Christmas movies.

"Right now, all these Christmas specials, we've got two DVRs in the house recording, recording, recording," said Santa Roger, though he added his favorite movie of all time is "Braveheart."

Santas also like red.

They buy red cars. Santa Robert Garrison, who is 69, lives in Waterford Township, Mich., between Detroit and Flint, and makes many appearances as Santa every season, drives a bright red van. Santa Roger reports that he has a red truck, a red motorcycle and a red helmet. Santa Roland settled for a maroon car only because his first choice, red, wasn't available.

The Santas buy a lot of red clothes, yet they're careful about wearing red during the holiday season — especially if they might cross paths with another Santa. Seeing two men who look like Santa in the same place could cause confusion and create a commotion.

For the same reasons, they try not to drive in their Santa suits, though sometimes it's unavoidable, as was the case with Santa Mike Deller one Sunday morning. As he drove down Interstate 696 on his way to an event, he noticed a car pacing him.

"Here's a man, driving 70 miles an hour with one hand to get his cell phone picture of Santa!" Santa Mike Deller said.

Santas are meticulous about their appearance.

They de-lint their suits and polish their boots before every appearance.

Before he goes out, Santa Robert spends about an hour sitting still so his wife, Jacque Garrison, can tame his white shoulder-length hair and spray glitter on his beard until everything looks just right.

Most Santas use their own hair and beards though Santa Joseph Aoun, a 51-year-old first year Santa from Macomb Township, Mich., broke out in a rash after bleaching his hair and beard white.

Santa Roland lost his hair.

"I didn't understand when they said, 'We're going to bleach your hair,' they use bleach," he said. "I couldn't breathe, it was horrible. That first time around, the person I had used was not as experienced that she led me to believe. After about 2 weeks, I was in the shower, washing my hair and it was coming out in clumps. I had a buzz cut on top and it stayed long on the sides."

His hat covered the damage.

Being Santa is an enormous commitment, and not just in time, though mall Santas sometimes work shifts that are 10 or more hours long, said Santa Joseph, who is stationed this season at a shopping center in Pennsylvania.

Being a professional Santa is a commitment to preserving Santa's reputation as an unflappable man of happiness and goodness, a magical myth.

"Once you decide to become Santa and sit in the Big Chair, how you act, it affects families and children and adults," said Santa Roland, who turns down offers from admiring women by reminding them that Mrs. Claus is expecting him home.

Also, he avoids going to the bathroom when he's dressed as Santa.

"I can stay on the chair for four to six hours and not have much trouble," Santa Roland said. "The once or twice I've had to go, I will ask for someone to clear the public restrooms so Santa can go in. There's the magic of Santa." Seeing Santa going to the bathroom "kind of wrecks the magic."

Said Santa Mike Deller, a 71-year-old retired library director from Livonia, Mich., who works parties and civic events such as story hours: "Santa has to project that he's feeling good and that he's happy to see the children."

And he is.

Even though "children age 16 to 36 months of age enter what I call, 'The Window of Terror.' " he said.

"They're very uncomfortable with this character called Santa Claus. They really fool their parents because all the way to the mall or the story time … they're talking a mile a minute about going to see Santa and what to say to Santa. Then they stand in front of the big guy and cry. We try to reassure the parents, 'Hey this is OK. It's not your parenting. It's nothing Santa did."

However, the other day Santa Roger had to take a break after visiting with a little girl accompanied by her grandparents.

"Grandma had me hold a picture of mom who was not with us anymore," Santa Roger said. I did not know the nature of mom," whether she was deceased or deployed or whatever. He choked up, thinking of the possibilities but held his composure until after the family left the Santa set. He decided he would pray for them.

"It's amazing how people can turn to Santa," he said. "That's something."

VIDEO: Go to Charles W. Howard Santa School in Midland, Mich.