“
Home For The Holidays” November 21, 2012 A Lincoln Daily News Magazine Copyright 2012
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younger relatives.
“
My older sister and two of her friends each
have a son, and one time they got the boys
together and I came over as Santa,” he said.
“
My nephew and the other two
boys were about 3 years old at the
time. When I walked in that room,
they were dead quiet. But the look
on their faces was the biggest
expression of happiness I have
ever seen. I sat down with them
and gave them each a present
to open. At the end of the visit,
without even being told to, my
nephew walked up to me, gave
me a hug and said, ‘Thank you.’”
But how does Frost go about
seeing other children? How does
the word get around that Santa can come to
your door?
Frost says most of his business comes from
word of mouth. He tells his family members
every year when he is ready to begin, and in
turn they tell others. He also posts information
on the Internet, and he has an email account
set up exclusively for receiving requests for an
appearance.
For the most part, Frost visits families who
ask for Santa to come to their home. However,
he is not opposed to working with organizations
that get in touch with him. For example, last
year Frost worked with the student union
from the University of Illinois at Springfield.
Frost simply asks that the location be within a
reasonable driving distance.
When working with a family,
a bit of information is required
before a visit can be finalized.
Frost asks that families provide
him with the name of the child or
children, as well as ages. He also
asks for some notable examples
of behavior, be it good or bad.
With this, Frost is able to better
represent Santa and also to report
to him later the names of every
child and if they have been good.
Frost brought up another example of how
well this information works for everyone. He
recalled a rather humorous visit that he still
remembers from when he first began working
as Santa with the Jaycees.
“
I visited a family with three boys,” he said.
“
I called them each by name and said that I
knew if they had been good or bad. I looked at
the oldest brother and said, ‘I know you broke
that chair.’ His parents had told me he had
broken a chair and it was bad behavior. The
boy looked at me and said, ‘He is real!” and
ran off. One of the ‘elves’ had to go get him so
we could finish the visit.”
Frost begins his duties about the last day of
November. And, “on occasion, I have visited
someone on Christmas Day,” he added.
For anyone with questions or a request to
see Santa visit with their children, Frost can
be reached via email at Lincoln.santa.claus@
gmail.com.
[
Derek Hurley]
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