I always thought: it's great to be Santa Claus, to give people joy. He dreamed of becoming one since childhood. Grandmother even sewed for me when I was six. And when I was a student, I decided to make a dream come true: I wrote flyers "Santa Claus with home visits", stood at the Detsky Mir store and gave it away. The orders came pouring down, but then there were problems: the normal beard was not to buy. It was in the 90's - a difficult time even for the wizards! Fortunately, good people suggested: in one market sat a shoemaker who knew how to make a beard out of nylon threads. That's how I became Santa Claus.
Photo: personal archive of the publication's hero
The main thing is that the suit is sitting
Now I have great equipment.My beard is made of natural hair, 1.5 meters long. It costs 28 thousand. Do you think it’s expensive? In our business, the costume must be such that the child would not doubt for a second that he is in front of a real Santa Claus. If a rascal wants to rip off the beard, no chance! It fits like a glove and looks like a native one. Santa Claus should smell like a holiday - when I go to see children, I spray myself with a special perfume with the aroma of tangerines or a Christmas tree. Santa Claus’s fur coat is half the success. A real wizard cannot wear a “red robe” from under which jeans and boots stick out. No skin should be visible under his mittens and collar - he is not a person. Personally, I wear a white turtleneck under my outerwear, and white ones are sewn to the sleeves. My fur coat is custom-made according to an exclusive design, it is decorated with Swarovski crystals and costs 46 thousand rubles. There are few fashionistas like me, or rather, there are only four of us. I am from Omsk, and my three friends are from Penza, Samara and Moscow. Every year we share photos and jokingly compete to see who has the coolest suit. I am not saying all this to brag. It is hard to outdo Father Frost from Veliky Ustyug, but my status obliges me to maintain my standards.
Father Frost willy-nilly
The real Santa Claus is selfless.In my youth, a story happened to me. I was returning from my last order, tired, on the trolleybus, still in character. Then a drunk guy sat down next to me: - You are Father Frost, right? Can you congratulate my children? In short, he was so attached that it was impossible to refuse. Luckily, he lived not far from me. We were walking, and I asked: "Have you prepared presents for the children?" And he only had chocolates in his hands... We arrived, and I realized that the family was very poor. The children saw me, and were so happy! They sang, danced, recited poems - the holiday was a great success. Luckily, there were extra presents left in the bag - I gave them to the children. I did not take money from the parents. We said goodbye, when suddenly someone caught up with me on the stairs and grabbed me by the sleeve. I turned around - the father of the family is standing there, and tears are rolling down his eyes. And he says to me, a 19-year-old boy: "You are a real Father Frost! Today I believed in miracles, thank you!" This is the kind of dedication in our profession - nothing else can compare! And after this incident, I always keep a few spare gifts in my bag.
Photo: personal archive of the publication's hero
"I'll read the letter to you, but I'll write it first."
Children are a very difficult audience for me.You can’t fool them, you can’t trick them. They look at you carefully from head to toe – what eyelashes, what makeup, what socks under your boots. I try to please them – I put on funny socks with snowflakes and ask them to help grandpa take off his shoes. To win a child’s trust, you need to be sincere and give it your all. There are difficult but funny situations. Once I came to congratulate a 5-year-old girl, and she was embarrassed. Gradually, she liked me, but instead of the allotted 30 minutes, it took 1:40. However, the hardest thing was not to gain the girl’s trust, but to leave the apartment. I say: “I have to go!” “Girl: “Grandpa, don’t go!” She showed me all her toys, we read all her books. I repeat: “Okay, I’m going!” She: “No! You haven’t had your tea!” "We're sitting, drinking tea, I'm sweating in my fur coat, but I can't show it. Finally, I headed for the exit, and the girl stood in front of me again: "Grandpa, I haven't read you my letter! I'll bring it to you now, just wait, I'll run off to pee!" As they say, do what you want, but you can't break faith in a fairy tale!
Photo: personal archive of the publication's hero
We are all children
In my work it is important to have a fire burning in my soul.This is a special state - you put on a costume, and your view of the world changes. I do not divide people into children and adults, for me everyone is a child, even at 70. There is a child in everyone, you just need to wake him up. Do you know when I felt like a real wizard? In the first year of work. There was no money for a taxi, I rode in a Santa Claus costume on public transport. That's when I really got a thrill! People were happy, asked to take pictures. Even now, when I drive in the costume, they honk at me, give me the right of way, cool! Now many people look for Santa Claus and Snow Maiden in private ads, choose cheaper options. This is a risky path, it is better to order a wizard through professional agencies. And so that the child does not get scared, ask them for a photo of the old man and show it to the child in advance. If you do everything right, then the real Santa Claus will come to you. And this means that the person will always believe in him. Even if he one day realizes that it is his parents who put presents under the tree, he will still believe in miracles and magic!
