At least some kids are going back to more traditional toys this year, according to Santa and Mrs. Claus.
The Albertan caught up with them while they were in Olds earlier.
“We got a lot of requests for Lego this year. That one has been consistent all the time, which surprised me a bit,” Santa said.
He was asked if there was a time when Lego wasn't as popular.
“It's back again. Let's just say it that way,” he said.
“We get so many (requests for things like) iPads,” Santa said.
“And iPods,” Mrs. Claus said. “It was so nice to hear (requests for something other than those things).”
The other surprise for Mrs. Claus was how much the children have grown.
They heard some sad news though.
“We did hear one mom say that her husband had been demoted and it would be a harder Christmas this year,” Mrs. Claus said.
On the bright side, they can always count on hearing some amusing things and this year has been no different.
“What did one little girl say? ‘I've been good.' Right away, she said, ‘I've been so good!'” Mrs. Claus said. “She was about three or four (years old).”
When asked if her mom confirmed that she had been good, Mrs. Claus said, “the moms always go, ‘hmmnnn…'”
“But they have fun and we have fun,” Santa said.
As they gear up for Christmas, Santa and Mrs. Claus are extremely busy; not only making sure all the gifts are ready to go to the right people, but also making sure the reindeer are ready – physically and psychologically.
“Blitzen is having a bit of anxiety (this year),” Mrs Claus said. “You know, Rudolf gets all the attention and I think Blitzen is really feeling it this year, so I've had to give him a little bit of extra (love) this year because he's feeling a little left out. Rudolf has the red nose so he gets to go first, so Blitzen was feeling a little out of sorts.”
“Last year it was Donner; this year it's Blitzen. He's funny,” she said.
The elves are a factor too.
“The elves get cranky at this time of year,” Mrs. Claus said.
Santa is sympathetic though.
“Their work is so hard,” he said.
“But we haven't had any accidents this year,” Santa said. “X years ago, Mrs. Claus lost the magic dust that shrinks me so I can go down the chimney and told that on the radio. Well, the radio station got so many phone calls that they had to phone back and track down Mrs. Claus.”
“So this year, we showed all the kids Santa's magic key so if we can't shrink him then he can still get in,” Mrs. Claus said.
“So many houses are built without fireplaces now (so this key comes in handy),” Santa added.
Mrs. Claus said she's taken precautions to make sure things go smoothly this year.
“I have the magic dust this year. I made sure of it,” she said. “I put it away in a safe place, so the elves couldn't hide it on me. They like to prank, you know.”
Santa confirmed the elves can be pranksters, and not just to them – to the reindeer as well.
A few weeks ago, Santa and Mrs. Claus came to Olds for the Olds Fashioned Christmas. They set up shop in the Cow Palace so kids could visit them, get their pictures taken with them, and tell them what they want for Christmas.
Santa and Mrs. Claus say the lineup was about the same as in previous years. It lasted for roughly two hours.
“I thought it would be a lot, lot less this year because of the cold and because the parade was postponed that night,” Santa said.
“I'm so proud; everybody came out,” Mrs. Claus added.
“Yeah, they've really supported the community,” Santa said.
Santa and Mrs. Claus say they're always impressed with the effort that goes into organizing Olds Fashioned Christmas.
