HO HO HAPPILY EVER AFTER
AS A PROFESSIONAL SANTA, TROY WONDERED IF HE’D EVER FIND HIS REAL-LIFE MRS CLAUS
Putting the finishing touches to his freshly bleached hair and beard, Troy Thode is ready for another season as Santa. For the last 40 years, the father of two has been perfecting his paunch and honing his ‘ho ho ho’s as he spreads Christmas cheer dressed as Saint Nick.
“I love being Santa so much,” he tells New Idea with a sparkle in his eyes. “It started when
I was in ninth grade. I was the biggest kid in my class so I played Santa in a school performance.
The year after, my dad asked me to hand out oranges to local kids dressed as Santa, and by the time I was 16, I had a job at a department store as Santa. It’s carried on every year, ever since.”
There’s always been just one thing missing – Troy’s very own Mrs Claus.
“Previous partners have never been interested,” he says.
But then, he found Cheryl. The pair, both 54 years old, had known each other for 40 years, having met while at school.
“I had a crush on her back then,” Troy admits. “I asked her out a couple of times when we were about 16 but she said no. She was scared of what her dad would say, but I didn’t know that. I gave up and life went on. We both got married to other people but we stayed friends.”
“Troy was Santa at our family Christmas party one year,” Cheryl remembers. “It was magical. He’s the perfect Santa with just the right laugh and these bright blue eyes.”
At the beginning of 2018, she started seeing Troy as more than just Father Christmas, though. Both recently divorced, Troy once again asked Cheryl out and this time she agreed.
“It was on the third date he really won me over,” she smiles. “He’d decorated his house with balloons and he had this sign saying ‘senior prom’.
“I’d never gone to a dance with him at school so he created one for us all these years on. It still makes me tearful thinking about that night.”
And with their love growing and the festive season coming, there was just one more thing to make their relationship complete. A Mrs Claus costume!
“It was so much fun,” Cheryl beams. “From November and right through December, we had a party or event booked nearly every day. Some families have been booking Troy for 20 years.”
“Having a Mrs Claus worked so well because some kids are scared of Santa,” Troy says. “They were far more likely to go to a mother figure and then the families could get their Santa pictures.”
Together, the pair are the perfect performers.
“I always watch the latest Santa movies so I can head off questions from kids about them and I make sure I research all the latest toys so I know what kids are talking about,” Troy laughs. “Anything that gives you the edge to pull them in and make them believe for another year is good. A few little white lies to promote a smile.”
He carries small gifts for every child, but for Mrs Claus he had the best present of all. And it was a huge surprise.
“We’d just finished a party and Troy got down on one knee,” Cheryl remembers. “I knew he had sore knees so I was checking he was OK when he pulled a ring out. I stopped breathing I think. And then I started crying. It was so beautiful.”
As the party watched, Santa proposed to Mrs Claus and, their fairytale was complete when she said yes!
“After all these years, the timing worked out that we could be together,” Troy smiles.
The real magic happened on June 29 as Cheryl’s five kids and Troy’s two sons watched them marry in a small ceremony with some extra sparkle.
“The grandkids don’t know Troy’s Santa so
“WE BOTH WORE BURGUNDY VELVET, WE WERE LIKE THE MODERN-DAY MR AND MRS CLAUS!”
we couldn’t go all out and ruin the Christmas magic, but we had milk and Christmas cookies for dessert and we both wore burgundy velvet,” Cheryl says. “We were like the modern-day Mr and Mrs Claus!”
This Christmas, Santa heads into the festive season with his real-life Mrs Claus by his side. And not that he’s planning on retiring any time soon but, when he does, there’s another Santa ready and waiting in the wings.
“My youngest son, Kolter, wants to follow in my footsteps,” he says. “The magic will live on.”