Zooming with Santa
With coronavirus limiting in-person events, one RI Santa portrayer goes digital this year
NORTH KINGSTOWN —McKenzie O’Reilly, 4, exclaimed after having a Zoom video call with Santa, whose
Alex Smith threw for 296 yards and a
lap she usually sits in, “Mommy, that
touchdown, Dustin Hopkins kicked a tie
was so much fun! I love talking to Santa
breaking 45-yard field goal with 2:04 remaining, and Washington beat the Steelers
and singing with him!”
23-17 on Monday night.
Pittsburgh (11-1) missed a chance to
A family friend, Riley Nelson, 9,
clinch a playoff berth and dropped into a
was also part of the live-streaming call.
tie with defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City for the top spot in the AFC
“That was with really four games cool remaining. and fun! A day after I am the so
New York Giants pulled an upset in Seat
happy that we got to talk to Santa today,” he said.
“Seeing the kids eyes still light up and smile. It’s great,” said Santa Jim Clarke, who for many years has been the roly-poly Santa who greets children and adults at the Wickford Village Festival of Lights, among other appearances.
He said it is time for the jolly old fellow to embrace some modern technology, even if Rudolph and the other reindeer don’t need GPS directions to help them.
COVID-19 restrictions and Gov. Gina Raimondo’s “pause” on group activities has stamped out many activities ceremony, but 71-year-old Clarke decided to persevere through the use of the rising popularity of video conferencing.
“All had such an amazing time,” said Courtney-Lynne O’Reilly about a video visit her two children and the two of her best friend, Christina Nelson, had recently with Clarke who also calls him
self Santa Jim.
“They kept talking about it and thanking us after the session. Absolutely incredible and so worth it, especially during these scary times. It was nice to still have some sort of ‘normal’ while thinking outside the box and keeping everyone safe,” she said.
Some Christmas traditions, despite the specter of COVID-19, are finding endurance through new and innovative ways, including technology like streaming video calls and even television broadcasts that weren’t even imag
ined yet when the last pandemic hit 100 years ago.
For Clarke, he knew last summer there would be no lap visits at malls, photo studios and other places this December. Yet, he still wanted Santa to remind adults once more of their own innocence and give children the thrill of believing in the magic of the season.
Clarke says he’s glad to be part of this innovative online video approach to bringing as much merriment as possible
to a holiday season dampened by fears of disease spread.
As he’s done for more than two decades, he sports the white beard and boasts an outgoing personality that makes the fantasy figure come alive when donning the red suit.
Channeling an inner Santa and letting him out is one requirement that must be met for anyone wanting to be Santa in public.
Any Santa must believe in the spirit of friendliness and meaning of togetherness during the holiday, with gift-giving coming in second or even third, those who play Santa have said. They also pointed out that Santas have a tough role of handling toy requests while also emphasi ing the spirit of the season is love without toys or gifts.
“It’s about joy, it’s about
happiness, it’s about seeing smiles on people’s faces, it’s about taking them away from their concerns of the moment and just feeling something special,” said Clarke.
And so it became the challenge of bringing Santa alive when children could not feel the warmth of his lap, the scruffiness of his beard and the breath from his mouth when asking what they wanted for Christmas.
Yet, it’s different than just the random stop-by where Santa Jim needs to figure out things on the fly.
It starts with parents signing up https www.facebook.com santajim RI for the 10-to15-minute video visits.The cost ranges between $35 to $55, depending on the length, wanted for the call.
For Clarke, the theater of it all comes with a little prep beforehand with parents telling him about the children, the family and gifts the children
want or received in past years.
Heather Wong Baily’s four-year-old daughter, Ling, recently found out just how much Santa knew about her when talking online from home.
“So when he organically mentioned the name of her favorite stuffed animal, it further convinced her that Santa was real and observing her behavior from afar. Santa Jim came prepared with a wide range of topics for children who have a harder time taking the lead,” said Bailey.
“We discussed Rudolph, treats we would be leaving out for him, the importance of wearing a mask,” she added.
She said the entire family — herself, daughter and husband — were involved in their video visit.
“Santa addressed each of us by name. By the end of the Zoom call, we were singing Jingle Bells’ with Santa. We all had big smiles on our
face and for a few moments, had let loose and forgot about the hardships going on in the world,” she said.
Clarke said that being a Zoom Santa took some practice, but now after about 50 visits with about two to four children in each — a number much lower than those he has seen in person — he’s got down the process.
“I have not done Zoom before this. You have to pay attention to where the camera is rather than screen,” he said about the biggest challenge.
He also said that being authentic is extremely important. He has a fat body suit and keeps the temperature at 62 degrees so it is comfortable in the small camper behind his Warwick house where he does his Zoom visits many days of the week.
His authenticity is so important to him, he said, that he doesn’t get dressed until arriving in the camper because he doesn’t want children of nearby neighbors seeing Santa walk each day from his house to his camper.
And that belief in the real Santa is what kept the children of Courtney-Lynne O’Reilly and friend, Christina Nelson, glued to the screen.
The O’Reillys, Christopher, , and Mc.en ie, 4, joined with the Nelsons, Riley, , and Brooklyn, 3, to chat with Clarke. Christopher has been visiting with Clarke each year since he was born.
“How did Santa know everything I like and am into That was incredible!” exclaimed Christopher, who like the others, still holds dear the magic of North Pole visitor coming each year to spread joy and compassion.
The purpose for himself, said Clarke, and the thousands of other look-alike Santas around the world, remains the same.
“I’m happy I’m doing something to put a smile on someone’s face,” he said.