Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus

Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus are getting set to meet their public at the Historical Village’s Train Station from 2 to 5

pm Sunday, Dec. 15. Admission is free.

The Claus couple is portrayed again this year by Historical Society members Chris Jordan and Peggy Trump. They will be assisted by three young Society members portraying elves: Morgan and Eren Miller and Braylen Wilson.

Chris has been portraying Santa for the Society and other organizations for eight years. Society member Darryl Walters got Chris started when he needed a Santa for a non-society event. The men live in Hilliard and are neighbors.

“I like seeing the kids’ eyes light up,” said Chris.

Interacting with children is wonderful especially when shy kids come out of their shells. It is easy for them to relax, especially with a Santa who has no qualms about getting down to their level even by sitting on the floor. Most of the time at the Dec. 15 event he and Mrs. Claus will sit on the bench in the Train Station’s waiting room.

“Some kids have no aversion. They just jump in your lap or come up and give you a hug,” said Chris. “I have some really magical stories about being Santa.”

There was the time at a charity event when a very shy boy approached. “Before we were done he was sitting in the chair with me, sharing candy canes and giving me high fives and talking,” said Chris. The boy’s mother was crying because the boy rarely spoke.

More than one child’s visit has tugged at the heartstrings. Chris recalls holding a three-week old baby girl, with a ventilator needed for breathing, on his lap for a photo. The baby’s two brothers were also in the picture. “They laid her on top of my beard in my arms,” said Chris.

“All of my gigs are volunteer or money goes to Toys for Tots,” said Chris.

He’s got his own suit and boots.

“It takes two hours to get ready – 15 minutes per eyebrow,” said Chris.

He has four beards – the most expensive one, at $250, is hand-laced. Sturdy fake beards are required when meeting children, he said.

Of the costume, Chris said, “It takes an hour to get out of it.”

When he’s off Santa duty, Chris is an operations manager at Genuine Cable Group.

Mrs. Claus, portrayed by Peggy Trump, has an easier time with her costume but just as much fun as Chris does playing her role. She plays Mrs. Claus solely for the Historical Society.

“Children are even more comfortable with Mrs. Claus than with Santa,” said Chris.

Peggy said, “I can help if a child is a little afraid of Santa – they aren’t necessarily afraid of me. I can be a buffer if they are afraid of Santa.”

Peggy will portray Mrs. Claus both at the Village’s Tree Lighting event on Dec. 1 - when she meets children as they write letters to Santa at the Schoolhouse - as well as during Santa’s visit to the Train Station.

She got the job because she happened to have a Mrs. Claus outfit, having acquired it for a Christmas skit at her job.

“A number of years ago the Society was talking about having Mrs. Claus in the Village and I offered the outfit to whomever was going to do it - and they told me if I had the outfit I needed to be the one to be Mrs. Claus,” said Peggy

“I didn’t want to do it, actually. I was nervous, scared. What if kids don’t think I’m Mrs. Claus and kids don’t believe me,” said Peggy.

That feeling disappeared. “After the first time I came home and told my husband, ‘I love it.’ It was so much fun. I could tell from the look in children’s eyes that they believed,” she said.

“I just am myself. I don’t really feel like I play a role. It is just being happy and smiling. I do that easily and can talk to kids and I am comfortable with that,” she said.

Both Chris and Peggy said their roles do require some homework.

“One thing I did learn the first year is I needed to research all the latest toys. Every year I look for the latest and greatest that kids are wanting,” said Peggy.

This year, children want gaming systems and/or games, and Squishmallows, she said.

Like, Chris, Peggy reports many wonderful experiences with the children. One year a 13-year-old girl visited Mrs. Claus seeking a photo. “She said that she needed her picture taken with me because she had one for every year and she wanted it again. That was so sweet that she sought me out,” said Peggy.

And as it is with Chris, there are times when the children just about break her heart. Peggy said, “One little boy wanted clothes and things for his siblings because they didn’t have anything. It was heartbreaking. He said they didn’t have enough food and nothing for Christmas.”

Peggy, a retired I.T. manager for the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and no relation to the President-Elect, lives in Norwich Township and recently was elected to the Historical Society’s Board of Trustees.

Contributed by Rosemary Kubera