I Believe in Santa All Over Again!

Yesterday I dressed up as Santa and joined some friends in London to give out some free hugs. Dressing up as Santa is something that I have done many times and I have had several free-hugging expeditions. However, I could not have prepared myself for the magical experience that I would have.

With no particular plan we drifted around London in 0 degrees. It proved to be a little cold, especially on the finger tips but we broke up our hugs with coffee shop stops and trips on the underground. At one stage we had about 15 friends giving out free hugs.

Throughout the day we gave hundreds of hugs each. This was particularly nice in such cold weather. I was also approached by several young children who wanted to be hugged by Santa. This was a wonderful experience.

Listening to skeptical views on what was in it for us was one call of the day. I was even offered money by one mum as I hugged her little girl! Disarming people about our intentions was another rewarding aspect of our day. Our aim is to spread a few smiles around London and feel good as we see the results. It is a perfect win-win investment of time.

As the day turned to night and our group thinned out we decided to go and sing some Christmas songs on the underground and hand out a few free hugs. This proved to be a great exercise in lifting the spirits of the tube. Not everyone wanted a free hug but a surprising amount of people did.

We had people sing along, lots of applause, lots of smiles and plenty of confused-looking people as we raised the energy of the tube.

When all of my fellow free-huggers finally went their separate ways it was just me heading home on the night train to St Albans. I did not anticipate that it would be snowing or that I'd have so much fun.

The train was crammed and the mood was generally low from a few returning revelers who were squashed together.

To cheer things up on a very crowded train I sung a few songs and a group of men joined in, easing the atmosphere. This also prompted a few songs from further down the carriage. About mid-way into the journey I noticed a very small boy, who could not have been more than about 5 years old. He was looking up at me, slightly bemused. I kneeled down to ask him how he was and, suddenly, all of the revelry around me stopped as the train travelers appeared to focus in on our conversation.

I had a chat with him before asking the young lad if he would like a hug. He nodded before giving me the most amazing hug of the day. It lasted several minutes and seemed to transform the mood of the train.

In those minutes something magical happened and it felt amazing. I felt the energy of the train shift as they saw Santa in action. He was clearly real for the young man and the incident brought tears to my eyes as I realised how he felt.

To touch lives in a deep and meaningful way, if only for a moment, is something that words cannot truly describe. Many people thanked me as they exited the train and I received a big cheer as I got off at St Albans. I returned home last night having people smile at me and even stop to say hello. This is not commonplace for me in St Albans with people I don't know.

For anyone who does not believe in Santa or the magic of Christmas I strongly recommend that you dress up and experience it for yourself. Today I feel better than I have all year. Yesterday I had some flu-like symptoms starting to manifest. Today they have gone and I spent most of my day in cold weather.

No amount of drugs, health care, rehabilitation or counseling will ever work as quickly as the desire to have fun, connect with people and touch lives in a meaningful way. I now believe in Santa and his magic all over again and feel very grateful for the gift that my fellow free huggers, numerous children and especially my young friend on the train home that I hugged, have given to me. Santa is, and always will be, as real as we allow him to be.

I have not felt this good in a long time.

Resource management, magic, beards and cookies

  Sometimes it is easy to ignore the opportunities or magic that stare one in the face. This week, on my Santa, leaflet-delivery campaign around the neighbourhood I dressed up as Santa, once again, and prepared to go out. Having just broken up from school my nephew, Connor, decided that he wanted to go out with me - and he wanted to dress as Santa as well.

  This led to a trip into Borehamwood to see what we could find. On a pre-Christmas market day it was pretty busy. All of the main stores had no more Santa suits of any description. We had all but given up as we walked down the high street and back towards the car.

  I then noticed a shop that was closing down. They had minimal stock and I couldn't see any immediately obvious Santa suits. However, tucked in the corner were the final 3 junior costumes. Junior Santa was unleashed in that moment.

  I took Connor to pass out some leaflets with me. It was something that he took to like a duck to water. His genuine excitement at meeting new people was a refreshing angle on how to approach door-to-door encounters.

  After a tentative start on the first few houses he soon fell into his flow. He handed my flyers to all that answered the door, connecting with everyone. I have no doubt that he added leverage to my message and he made the process much more fun than it already was for me. Watching him connect with small children, who just looked on in amazement, was a magical experience. 

  Cars and even buses beeping and people waving as we walked down the road brought about a bit more magic. 

  One funny event was being spotted by a group of Connor's friends, claiming that I was not the real Santa. As we walked down the road I was pursued by this group of 5-6 year-olds claiming that I couldn't be real because my beard wasn't real and I wasn't fat enough. They advised me that I needed to eat a lot more cookies to achieve the weight that would make me look more real. 

  I'm not sure that the cookie, crash weight-gain advice will be enough to give me sufficient authenticity between now and Christmas. However, I will know to model the cookie monster next year and start growing a beard now if I'm ever going to convince the more shrewd members of the community of my seasonal status.

  As for Connor - all he wants to know is when we can go out and deliver more leaflets. A better intervention for a new business has surely yet to be discovered.

Another Day in the Life of an Icon

  Being an individual who likes to walk and bring a smile or two to the faces of those around me, I'm always looking to do so. As I have a local event starting off in my home village of Shenley, in Hertfordshire, I decided to deliver a few flyers and let a few people know what I'm doing - dressed as Santa.

  Having never done any door to door deliveries since a paper round when I was 10, this was always going to be an interesting affair. Since over half of the houses that I went to were empty it was a bit of a lottery. 

  Some mothers were in, with their small children, and that provided plenty of smiles all around. I also received a few worried looks - after all, I'm sure that it's not every day that Santa turns up on their doorstep telling them about a wellbeing event at the local village hall. It was particularly ironic for those houses with the "Santa, please stop here" signs planted outside numerous front doors - be careful what you ask for!

  For the most part I received very friendly responses and had some great chats. Of course, one group of teenage chaps were not so reciprocal as I wished them a merry Christmas, responding with "Santa - you w****r!" Even this brought a smile to my face as the ghost of Christmas past came back to visit - I was no angel as a teenager either!

  Everyone else who I came across walking gave me a warm smile and drivers would beep horns and wave at me as the passed by. So, all-in-all it was a wonderful day out. I've connected with the local community in a way that it hadn't dawned on me to do before, I've spread a bit of Christmas cheer and I've let a few people know what I do. 

  It's been a simple lesson in the power of Santa, connecting, walking and staying positive - for it's always the most potentially negative experiences that result in the funniest tales. Just ask any Fawlty Towers fan.