Santa’s ride…

[Warped9]

The world is a lot more complicated place these days. Indeed since the 1940s-1950s when aircraft became a lot more widespread, particularly with commercial aircraft, the skies are a lot more crowded. Also countries are particular about who is allowed to cross their designated airspace freely.

Suffice to say I used to get around easily without much issue or complaint, but for the past 80 years people are a lot more nervous and wary of who is flying overhead. To that end I’ve had to restrict my flying time mostly to only one night a year, Christmas Eve. The rest of the time I travel (often incognito) by more conventional means. If I absolutely have to fly I’ve learned to do it under the radar.

Over the years I’ve used different ways of getting around—by train, by boat, aircraft or truck—throughout the year. More recently I’ve taken to using a Bronco Sport when on the ground. Mind you I can make it fly if I absolutely have to.

So keep an eye peeled as you might just carch sight of me passing by…

 

[EddieTheBear]

Haha nice story Santa, but seriously what year Bronco Sport are you running and how's the reliability been?

 

[Warped9]

It’s a 2024, only a little more than a year old, and it’s been great.

 

[Warped9]

Last year was my first Christmas without Mum. She passed away in April 2024. Now both my parents were gone as Dad had passed away in 2017. The prospect of Christmas alone was looking bleak.

About a month before Christmas I was sitting alone after dinner sipping a coffee and thinking there is no damn way I’m spending Christmas Eve alone. So I began to concoct a plan. I got a pen and, yes, began to make a list. I needed a list to plan a route. When I eventually finalized my plan I decided to share it with only one other person, a friend at work.

Now it happened that before I shared my plan with my friend she told me she and her husband wanted to invite me to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner with them and their family. I was touched by their generosity and accepted, then I shared my plan with her and told her not to tell anyone else.

I figured out how many stops I would be making and bought that many boxes of chocolate which I wrapped each individually. On Christmas Eve we had snow on the ground and going on 7pm I suited up and headed out.

Each stop I could spare only about 10 or 15 minutes to stay on schedule. But the best part was no one on my list expected Santa to be knocking on their door on Christmas Eve to wish them Merry Christmas in person. To say it was a Christmas surprise is an understatement.

There were a couple of particularly priceless moments. At one point five of my stops were within walking distance of each other. So Santa parked his red Bronco and walked the streets with his sack over his shoulder. A couple out walking their dog were taken by surprise when under a street lamp Santa waved, laughed and wished them Merry Christmas as he made his rounds.

Later I smiled taking Highway 401 at 120 kph with Christmas music playing. Traffic was light yet I wondered what a cop might think pulling Santa over on Christmas Eve and being asked how they could pull Santa over while he made his rounds. It would be deer crap in their stocking for sure.

My final stop was my friend’s place. When I rang the doorbell her husband Vince answered the door and looked like he didn’t know what to think. I know Vince, but Jamie kept her word and didn’t tell him or her family Santa was coming, and it was funny he didn’t recognize me even when I shook his hand. It began to dawn on him when he saw the way his wife behaved as if she new who it was. He clued in when I finally looked him in the eye.

Teenagers are usually quite blase about most things, but their daughter Jenn was on the ceiling seeing Santa visit their house in person.

After about twenty minutes I left. I put my stuff in the car and put my own coat on then went back to ring the doorbell again. When Vince answered the door again I said, “What kind of weirdoes have you got in this town? I just saw some dude dressed in red jump into a Bronco and take off. And I don’t mean down the street. He literally took to the air. I thought only reindeer could fly!”

It was a lot of fun. I got home about quarter to twelve and sat with a coffee waiting for midnight to greet Christmas Day with Mum and Dad even with them not there. Yes, it was still a bit sad, but nowhere as overwhelming as if I had spent all of Christmas Eve alone.

So now I’m thinking of adding one or two extra stops to my route this year…


When I’m not at the North Pole. Thats Marmaduke on the wall.

 

[Bill G]

Last year it was my first Christmas without Mum. She passed away in April 2024. Now both my parents were gone as Dad had passed away in 2017. The prospect of Christmas alone was looking bleak.

About a month before Christmas I was sitting alone after dinner sipping a coffee and thinking there is no damn way I’m spending Christmas Eve alone. So I began to concoct a plan. I got a pen and, yes, began to make a list. I needed a list to plan a route. When I eventually finalized my plan I decided to share it with only one other person, a friend at work.

Now it happened that before I shared my plan with my friend she told me she and her husband wanted to invite me to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner with them and their family. I was touched by their generosity and accepted, then I shared my plan with her and told her not to tell anyone else.

I figured out how many stops I would be making and bought that many boxes of chocolate which zi wrapped each individually. On Christmas Eve we had snow on the ground and going on 7pm I suited up and headed out.

Each stop I could spare only about 10 or 15 minutes to stay on schedule. But the best part was no one on my list expected Santa to be knocking on their door on Christmas Eve to wish them Merry Christmas in person. To say it was a Christmas surprise is an understatement.

There were a couple of particularly priceless moments. At one point five of my stops were within walking distance of each other. So Santa parked his red Bronco and walked the streets with his sack over his shoulder. A couple out walking their dog were taken by surprise when under a street lamp Santa waved, laughed and wished them Merry Christmas as he made his rounds.

Later I smiled taking Highway 401 at 120 kph with Christmas music playing. Traffic was light yet I wondered what a cop might think pulling Santa over on Christmas Eve and being asked how they could pull Santa while he made his rounds. It would be deer dung in their stocking for sure.

My final stop was my friend’s place. When I rang the doorbell her husband Vince answered the door and looked like he didn’t know what to think. I know Vince, but Jamie kept her word and didn’t tell him or her family Santa was coming, and it was funny he didn’t recognize me even when I shook his hand. It began dawn on him when he saw the way his wife behaved as if she new who it was. he clued in when I looked him in the eye.

Teenagers are usually quite blase about most things, but their daughter Jenn was on the ceiling seeing Santa visit their house in person.

After about twenty minutes I left. I put my stuff in the car and put my own coat on then went back to ring the doorbell again. When Vince answered the door again I said, “What kind of weirdoes have you got in this town? I just saw some dude dressed in red jump into a Bronco and take off. And I don’t mean down the street. He literally took to the air. I thought only reindeer could fly!”

It was a lot of fun. I got home about quarter to twelve and sat with a coffee waiting for midnight to greet Christmas Day with Mum and Dad even with them not there. Yes, it was still a bit sad, but nowhere as overwhelming as if I had spent all of Christmas Eve alone.

So now I’m thinking of adding one or two extra stops to my route this year…


When I’m not at the North Pole. Thats Marmaduke on the wall.

Great story!
It’s just the wife and me the past few years, and this year is a little “upside down” but that’s life . . . so wishing all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year — enjoy all those you have and make each year the best one.

 

[Warped9]

It’s often asked why Christmas doesn’t feel the same. Christmas evolves as it always has down through the centuries. The Christmas we know and recognize, how it’s observed and practiced, is a relatively recent thing only about 170 or so years old. The familiar Christmas we know took form in the early to mid 19th century. Before that Christmas was quite different, unfamiliar, sometimes quiet, often loud and boisterous and public, and even tinged with violence.

But more immediately I think a large part of why Christmas doesn’t feel the same is a matter of perspective. Christmas when you’re a kid is very different from when you’re an adult. As a kid you usually have no responsibilities or worries. You live in the moment and it’s easy for things to feel magical. And you likely don’t see or understand that a lot of Christmas’ magic was due to your parents and how they fashioned it for you, just as their parents fashioned it for them when they were young.

The world doesn’t feel very magical as an adult. You have worries, pressures and responsibilities. And it’s now your turn to create the magic for others.

For me Santa started as a joke, a bit of horsing around at work between tasks. The prospect of possibly not being able to make it home for Christmas hung over my head (awhile later I learned I would make it home that year). I grabbed some fake snow, put it on my face and tucked it under my winter cap and put on my black & red checked winter coat and strode through the store (I was then working at Future Shop in Mississauga) like Santa taking a break. After about ten minutes I went back to work on my next task.

Awhile later the manager called me into the office. I thought I was going to get a small reprimand for goofing around on company time. Instead he exclaimed he’d loved it and asked if I would be willing to do it for the store on a Saturday. At first I resisted because I had just been clowning around, but I guess he saw something because he kept trying to persuade me.

Finally I relented, but argued I didn’t have a suit. He replied they would buy me one. He told me to find something and give them the bill (and they did promptly reimburse me). What I found was a cheap velour outfit that was simply horrible to wear. It was lightweight, but it didn’t breathe and you overheated and sweated buckets! On that Saturday it was a cold, windy and snowy day and I’d go outside for ten minutes every so often just to cool off. The thought occurred to me I could have worn my own winter coat indoors all day and not get overheated like this—and that gave me an idea.

Firstly, I found I enjoyed being Santa. I liked making people smile and laugh. I also learned children and seniors like Santa most. Adults in their 30s-50s tend to be more blase. But looking forward I decided that if I did this again I would be more proactive and creative about it. So the next year I bought a woman’s coat from a secondhand clothing store, found a tailor and had him reverse the coat and recover it with fabric and faux fur from Fabricland. It worked out well enough for a few years until one day I would have a suit made more exactly as I wanted it, to look more authentic and more 19th century (and thats the suit I have presently seen in the pictures upthread).

As I intended the suit is made like a real coat I can wear indoors or outdoors for hours on end. The only issue is the hat because you cannot stay cool indoors with faux fur wrapped around your head. It’s okay if you’re outside in the cold air.

I’ve been Santa for about twenty years now and it’s been fun and rewarding. There have been lots of awesome moments and fun stories.

And now my Bronco gets to enjoy part of the fun and adventure…

 

[Bill G]

It’s often asked why Christmas doesn’t feel the same. Christmas evolves as it always has down through the centuries. The Christmas we know and recognize, how it’s observed and practiced, is a relatively recent thing only about 170 or so years old. The familiar Christmas we know took form in the early to mid 19th century. Before that Christmas was quite different, unfamiliar, sometimes quiet, often loud and boisterous and public, and even tinged with violence.

But more immediately I think a large part of why Christmas doesn’t feel the same is a matter of perspective. Christmas when you’re a kid is very different from when you’re an adult. As a kid you usually have no responsibilities or worries. You live in the moment and it’s easy for things to feel magical. And you likely don’t see or understand that a lot of Christmas’ magic was due to your parents and how they fashioned it for you, just as their parents fashioned it for them when they were young.

The world doesn’t feel very magical as an adult. You have worries, pressures and responsibilities. And it’s now your turn to create the magic for others.

For me Santa started as a joke, a bit of horsing around at work between tasks. The prospect of possibly not being able to make it home for Christmas hung over my head (awhile later I learned I would make it home that year). I grabbed some fake snow, put it on my face and tucked it under my winter cap and put on my black & red checked winter coat and strode through the store (I was then working at Future Shop in Mississauga) like Santa taking a break. After about ten minutes I went back to work on my next task.

Awhile later the manager called me into the office. I thought I was going to get a small reprimand for goofing around on company time. Instead he exclaimed he’d loved it and asked if I would be willing to do it for the store on a Saturday. At first I resisted because I had just been clowning around, but I guess he saw something because he kept trying to persuade me.

Finally I relented, but argued I didn’t have a suit. He replied they would buy me one. He told me to find something and give them the bill (and they did promptly reimburse me). What I found was a cheap velour outfit that was simply horrible to wear. It was lightweight, but it didn’t breathe and you overheated and sweated buckets! On that Saturday it was a cold, windy and snowy day and I’d go outside for ten minutes every so often just to cool off. The thought occurred to me I could have worn my own winter coat indoors all day and not get overheated like this—and that gave me an idea.

Firstly, I found I enjoyed being Santa. I liked making people smile and laugh. I also learned children and seniors like Santa most. Adults in their 30s-50s tend to be more blase. But looking forward I decided that if I did this again I would be more proactive and creative about it. So the next year I bought a woman’s coat from a secondhand clothing store, found a tailor and had him reverse the coat and recover it with fabric and faux fur from Fabricland. It worked out well enough for a few years until one day I would have a suit made more exactly as I wanted it, to look more authentic and more 19th century (and thats the suit I have presently seen in the pictures upthread).

As I intended the suit is made like a real coat I can wear indoors or outdoors for hours on end. The only issue is the hat because you cannot stay cool indoors with faux fur wrapped around your head. It’s okay if you’re outside in the cold air.

I’ve been Santa for about twenty years now and it’s been fun and rewarding. There have been lots of awesome moments and fun stories.

And now my Bronco gets to enjoy part of the fun and adventure…

YES, giving is what it’s all about. A friend of mine used to play Santa at Ronald McDonald house and Children’s Hospital each year. He ran out of “elves” to help him and I went went with for a couple years (a large elf with a beard, but what the heck). It was a high point in the holidays, though tough to see the kids there — but great when you saw them light up at Santa and his elf bringing gifts and Christmas carols, even if off-key.

 

[Warped9]

I like this picture from last year. It was the first time I took my Bronco Sport out with some real snow on the ground. It was December 1st, 2024 and I had not had it even two months yet. I had gone out to various stores to look at Christmas decorations for ideas to decorate my new place I had moved into in September.

I didn’t actually try to take this pic while driving. Traffic was light so I stopped the car just long enough to take the pic.

What a great ride in the countryside while listening to Christmas music. Looking forward to doing that again soon.

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