Sam-ta In Da House

On Saturday, I made my debut as one of Santa's helpers - dressed in a Santa costume - at a party for 100ish staff and residents of Good Shepherd homes (for developmentally disabled adults). Traci organized the party - a church service, snacks, games, karaoke (awesome!) - and it was a blast. Highlights include:

* Seeing faces completely light up when they saw Santa and getting lots of hugs

* Hearing what people want for Christmas (several want "everything")

* Not falling, in spite of my (a) limited field of vision (due to wig, moustache, and beard), (b) clunky fat suit, and (c) shoe coverings that kept twisting around

* Learning that everyone has been good this year

* Some of the karaoke songs were Feliz Navidad, Celebration, and Love Shack

* My "Santa voice" sounded like Kramer on the Seinfeld episode where he is answering the phone for the movie information line ("Why don't you just tell me the name of the movie that you want to see?")

If it weren't such a sweaty gig, I may consider a temp career as a mall Santa's helper.

(A friend took pictures, and I will post a couple when I get them)

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IN OTHER NEWS - When I went outside this morning, I saw that the tacky, dim-headed snowman was laying sideways on the ground, in a couple of pieces. It was quite windy, but I like to think that a Fondly, Sam reader is doing me a favor and trying to put the snowman (and the rest of Hillsboro) out of its misery. Thanks for the effort.