Kids now want gizmos on Xmas
by Chetna Banerjee
Gone are the days when kids were content getting just packets full of chocolates and nutties from Santa Claus.The millennium kids hope to find hi-tech electronic cars, planes and jets and designer dolls with loads of accessories in their Santa stockings. The age of mere goodies as Xmas presents is over. Kids now want gizmos,too!

Santa unmasked!!!
by Nischal Anand Singh
EVER thought of the real faces behind that jolly old, rotund figure with a long,snowy beard,who arrives with a bagful of gifts for kiddies at Christmas time?Yeah,though kids don’t realise it, there are real-life people who enact the role of Santa Claus.

Kids now want gizmos on Xmas
by Chetna Banerjee

Gone are the days when kids were content getting just packets full of chocolates and nutties from Santa Claus.The millennium kids hope to find hi-tech electronic cars, planes and jets and designer dolls with loads of accessories in their Santa stockings. The age of mere goodies as Xmas presents is over. Kids now want gizmos,too!

Gitanjali and Vineet Puri’s five-year-old daughter Cheryl’s favourite Xmas gifts are Barbie dolls. But not for her those western look Barbie’s in mini skirts and tube tops. She has a hankering for dolls attired in designer bridal wear. In fact ,the latest demand of this UKG student of Sacred Heart is that her mom, who’s runs a boutique, design dresses for this cute little gift that Santa gets for her. She certainly has wardrobe ideas for her little friend !

As for Gitanjali, who, too, grew up on a staple of Santa yarns, " As a kid, I used to be content with just chocolates and toffees hung in my stockings by Santa."

Pooja and Sanjiv Madhok’s only child, eight-and-a-half-year-old Sharang, is certainly a new-age kiddie for he has grandly announced that he expects a laptop as his Xmas present (Hope Santa is listening !!)

‘’He has such a fetish for computer games and battery-operated robots that he just doesn’t fancy any small toy,"says Pooja, herself a teacher in Saupins, Sector 70, Mohali.

"In our schooldays,we used get excited even at getting colourful, fancy erasers or a packet of crayons." But for her son, a Class III student in St Stephen’s, crayons & colours are trivia and getting just nutties and wafers from Santa is not enough.

Indu and Binny Thapar’s four-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Amrita, a student of Carmel Convent, too, has clearly-defined tastes as far as Xmas gifts go. Not for her any ordinary dolls or toys. She wants designer Barbies—be it princess Barbie or Cinderella Barbie. "Her favourite is the Barbie kit with lots of hairstyling accessories,’’elaborates Indu, a college lecturer. "She just wants to try out new hairdos on Barbie," she adds.

"Though she wants chocolates,wafers and colouring books, too, she desires more contemporary toys from Santa,’’quips her businessman dad.

Renu and Sanjay Mediratta’s two kids, Tanya (10) and Utkarsh (3), have their own preferences about what Santa should get for them. For Tanya, a Class 5 student of Dutt Vishesh, it has to be either books, shoes or snazzy dresses. "Enid Blyton’s booksare her favourite Xmas gifts, but now she even hopes to find cosmetics in her stockings," laughs Renu.

That’s a long way from Renu’s own childhood desires. "I used to be content getting chocolates and colours from Santa,"she says. "Though I, too, had a special fancy for perfumes and got them on Christmas sometimes,’’she hastens to add.

If you thought that Utkarsh, in play group at Silver Oaks, was too small to know his mind,you’re wrong. Says Sanjay, who works with GEAppliances, Utkarsh clearly wants Santa to bring him an electronic train or a racing car. Blinking toy cars and hi-speed mobikes are what fascinate this kid.

EVER thought of the real faces behind that jolly old, rotund figure with a long,snowy beard,who arrives with a bagful of gifts for kiddies at Christmas time?Yeah,though kids don’t realise it, there are real-life people who enact the role of Santa Claus.

With their amusing antics and cheery presence these ‘ human’ Santas bring a smile on everyone’s face, be it children or adults.Over the ages ,perhaps only the image of Santa has changed, his popularity has in no way waned. It’s just that the modern-day Santas don’t wade through heaps of snow in sledges or climb down chimneys, but probably drive up in sleek, heater-fitted Santros or Marutis.

We caught up with a few people who have often donned the red ‘n’ white Santa apparel and got into the Christmas Father act with cheer and aplomb. And being human,these ‘Santas’ have had their share of hilarious and memorable escapades.

Recalls Neera Anand,a teacher who is unanimously chosen to play Santa at her school function every year. "My most hilarious experience as Santa was when I was teaching in St Joseph’s school. There I was coming dancing and singing when suddenly I tripped.A roar of laughter went up among the kids as I lay, waving my legs in the air. My false beard came off too. A funny sight I made!".

This resourceful teacher gets her Santa gear from a bhangra house in Sector 40 and then takes great pains to achieve the special effects—stuffing pillows for the pot-bellied look, sticking cotton for the snow effect, et al.

Capt Shamsher Singh, who has played Santa in the Chandigarh Club, Golf Club and other places umpteen times, has his share of memorable experiences. "One winter,after I became Santa in the Golf Club, I received a thank you card from a brother-sister duo.They were so impressed by Santa !", he remembers with pride. "When I became Santa at the Plaza carnival, mothers would bring their lovely kids to me to shake hands. Some of the mothers were themselves so beautiful that ‘Santa’ would have liked to shake hands with them ,too!," he laughs with a naughty twinkle in his eyes.

Interestingly, he took his act so seriously that he always planned out novel ways to arrive on the scene—sometimes atop a camel, elephant and even on a fire engine with fire bells pealing full blast to create the "jingle bells....."effect !

Rev (Dn) Anil Roy

Being from a theatre background, becoming Santa helps the Rev (Dn) Anil Roy in doing what he likes the most— act. And add to that the public adulation he gets, which is proved by the fact that he has become Santa nine times so far. He sure seems to be having his cake and eating it too.

The most amazing part is that this government employee does the elaborate make-up and gets all the stuff on his own, and even prepares the trademark Santa Claus beard himself.

And, oops, he’s had quite a few embarrassing moments during his stints as Santa. "At one function, a child pulled my cap which had some balloons attached to it, taking with it my wig and making me the world’s only Santa with black hair. Another time, the false Santa beard I was wearing kept on coming off, thanks to the sweat and I really had a difficult time keeping it on. Funnily enough, the audience seemed to love it."

"Santa Claus represents the spirit of giving and concern for others," says the Reverend Warris Masih of Christ Church (CNI), Chandigarh. In keeping with Yuletide spirit, he agreed to become Santa five times.

Becoming Santa is a big high on it’s own not only because of the attention one gets but it is a great feeling to bring a smile on the faces of one and all, especially the kids, who laugh at the way he talks to them or plays with them." Believe it or not, some kids are scared of Santa in the beginning, but once you chat up with them, they also join in the fun.