Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, December 6, 1994 TAG: 9412060060
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KATHLEEN WILSON
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But Nathan stopped just inches short of his target, broke out in a big grin, and instead of tackling the man in red, gave him a great big hug.
``That's a nice shirt you've got on there, buddy,'' Santa told Nathan, totally disarming him.
It's a moment most children look forward to each year: the chance to tell Santa everything they want for Christmas.
But, when sitting on the big man's lap and staring through his spectacles into his eyes, even those like Nathan become a little awestruck.
Santa had to coax Nathan into revealing his wishes: a motorcycle and a Jeep.
``Oh, look at that face!'' whispered Nathan's mom from the sidelines, when Nathan mugged for the camera with every tooth in his mouth when told to smile.
Kristin Montgomery, 4, never broke eye contact with Santa. Her eyes twinkled as she hesitantly reached out her tiny hand to touch his beard.
``You can touch it,'' encouraged Santa.
The tiny blonde coyly cupped her hand over Santa's ear to whisper that her under-the-tree wishes included a Barbie and a bike.
Karen Carr, 9, found herself speechless.
``What do you want for Christmas?'' Santa asked.
Karen just stared.
``A Power Ranger,'' prompted her mom from the sidelines.
``What's your favorite color Power Ranger?'' Santa asked Karen.
``The pink one,'' she said in a sweet voice.
``Will you leave me some milk and cookies?'' the big man asked. ``Delivering presents is hungry work. Especially for the reindeer.''
Kimberly Jamison, 9, got the once-over from Santa.
``Let's not chew gum now,'' he ordered her gently.
Kimberly blushed.
``Now,'' he continued, once the chewing had stopped. ``Have you been good this year?''
She nodded her head.
``Have you been cleaning your room?''
She nodded her head.
``Have you been doing your homework?''
She nodded her head.
``Have you been listening to your mother?''
Kimberly hesitated.
She shot a glance at her mom.
Then she nodded her head.
``Good girl!'' Santa boomed.
Kimberly sighed with relief.
Twins Matthew and Brice Young, 4, had totally different Christmas lists.
Matthew wanted a Batman, a gun and green and red Power Rangers.
But Brice hesitated at first.
``I want ... I want ... '' he began, afraid even to look at Santa.
Finally - in a whisper - ``I want a real reindeer.''
This one surprised even Santa.
``A real reindeer?'' Santa repeated.
Brice nodded his head.
``Well, do you have a place for him to stay?''
Brice nodded his head.
``You know, they are an awful lot of work,'' Santa warned.
Naturally, from time to time, the jolly old elf has to jog small ones' memories. Five-year-old Clinton Graham finally remembered he wanted a remote-control plane.
``Anything else?''
``Uh, I don't know.''
Not a problem for Santa.
``Well, why don't you write me a list?'' he said. ``Do you know where to send it?''
``The North Pole?''
``That's right,'' said Santa. ``I've got the elves up there working on things now.''
Clinton looked relieved.
(``What did he ask for?'' Clinton's mother asked me when she saw I was taking notes. I told her about the remote control airplane. ``Anything else?'' she asked, somewhat concerned. ``He told him to write a list,'' I whispered. She shook her head gratefully.)
Sarah Betterton, 6, didn't have Clinton's problem coming up with a list.
``I want a Baby Check-Up, a baby crib, a Barbie doll house, roller skates, a skateboard, Barbie dolls, a pretend washer, a pretend ironing board, and a pretend dryer.''
When she got down from Santa's knee, Sarah walked over to me and asked, ``Wanna know a secret?''
Sure!
``You ALWAYS get more things than you ask for,'' she said with a very happy smile.
Attention, parents!
If you've been reading this to your children, stop here!
Sitting with Santa in Tanglewood Mall, I learned a few things.
For example, when Santa shuts down the operation to go feed the reindeer, that's probably not the only call of nature he's answering.
This is the second year Phil Brown, a local attorney, has been Tanglewood's Santa.
``Just stopped by to say hi,'' said a thirtysomething guy talking on a cellular phone as he passed Santa.
``You phoning my pizza in?'' Phil asked as Santa. Then, ``I have no idea who that is.''
He gets teased some, but Phil loves doing this.
``It's a great job - being Santa,'' he said, waving to a little boy in a wheelchair. ``You spend six weeks in the mall, one night running all over the world, sleep until Easter and then start planning the next go-around.''
by CNB