December 22, 2005

A Jolly Good Fellow

We've all seen our share of cheesy mall Santas, but the read deal can be found every year at NorthPark Mall in Dallas. The legendary NorthPark Santa has it all -- a real beard, real white hair, and real jolliness -- a quiet, personal, looking-you-in-the-eye sort of jolly, not the big overblown, bellowing HO HO HO to the cameras sort of jolly.

No matter how you feel about the whole Santa thing, this fellow is worth seeing just as a work of cultural art.

His elves told me yesterday that every year, some teenagers will bring in albums with over a dozen years' worth of pictures with him, for him to sign. We may have to do that next year!


1989


1995


Yesterday

7 comments:

toesthattwinkle said...

That'd be some one to see. I like the pictures. Merry Christmas!!!

Mrs. Happy Housewife said...

I'm glad to see photos of happy children there. :)

Life is better in the South said...

I hate to say this...but it doesn't look like any of the kids are wanting to take that picture! Awww...1989 is Fa-So-La-La aww she's sooo cute!!! NOT CRYING!! (mommy who is this man that you're handing me to? ahhh!!!)

Lynn Bruce said...

Actually, when Spuddy Buddy saw the picture, he said, "That's funny, I thought I was smiling!"

They like the Santa dude alright... maybe the photographer was just sufficiently cheesy to provoke those quasi-enthused expressions.

Life is better in the South said...

He must be good. When my eldest first sat on Santa's knee, she was not so calm as yours. We have a picture of her crying and reaching for Mommy... perhaps she could be persuaded to post it...

fa-so-la-la said...

But she's *medium maintenance,* see....

::chokes down a laugh::

Anonymous said...

This is a great Santa Claus! I found you while looking up a new novel, A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW by Stephen V. Masse. Thanks for the very pleasant photos.