A Santa-stic Christmas!

It is one thing when a holiday fatefully falls on your birthday and quite another when your birthday happens to coincide with the biggest celebrations around the globe. Yes, I was born on the twenty fifth of December, Christmas Day and yes I am really lucky for the festivities that lead up and occur during and beyond this day.

Being the twenty second one (I am getting old!) , and with no hint of what my buddies had planned , this birthday turned out to be  - ' A Santa-stic Christmas'. I guess the title gives it away, it did involve a Santa (as can be guessed quite easily) - a fat, chubby, white-bearded merry making kind old man with the iconic cry (Ho! Ho! Ho!), or did it?

Well, we definitely had a Santa with the costume and the beard (fake but white!) yet, there were a few points of doubt and anxiety for the audience at Select City Walk , Saket :

• The Santa was lean (Lean by huge-fat-guy-stuck-on-a-doorway standards)
• The beard was a quite sparse.
• The Santa wasn't so sure of himself (the elves were shouting Ho! Ho! Ho! instead of the Santa)
• There was NO bag of goodies.
• The Santa was ME!

M. and Santa (near the Santa sleigh with the monster truck tires)

As is evident, the Santa is a poor rendition of the original, but yes such small shortcomings are of no consequence when such a wonderful surprise is planned and executed. (Though, next time, knock me out cold, then dress me up properly as a Santa -full edition- and smuggle me into the Christmas exhibition at the mall in the wee hours of the morning with a bag of candies!) 

Once upon a time

two of the best-est friends

crafted a plot so deviously coy

Involving a hat, a beard and an ancient trend

In short, I was dressed up as Santa and paraded around Select City Walk and DLF Place ( they are adjoining malls) on Christmas Day by my best friends - M. and S. . Though the idea was very embarrassing, I decided not to spoil the fun (I had no choice really, and I am just saving my face) and donned the costume in a corner wash room and that is where the day actually began for Santa.

Gangsta Santa (Fresh into Santa clothes)

'Twas his birthday

A riot he was made

In gaily coloured red

a thin, clean shaven Santa to-day? 

First up were two kids who actually got a photograph clicked with Santa in the mall's wash room! (Well, I guess I am the first Santa who does wash room snaps). Then, it was the entire mall. As we walked around, we were stopped quite a few times by kids, parents with kids, grown ups and on rare occasion, girls.The populace in general was confused as to my origins for I was quite a shabby looking Santa for a professional Santa -artist and M. and S. had a great laugh each time they explained the fate that had befallen me on this birthday

Mommy seems more happy to get the photo with Santa

Are you the only Santa?

Asked slightly confused merry makers

Its his birthday ma'am, so

Dressed he is,  a photograph maybe? Any takers?

It so happened that the mall authorities had overlooked the fact that you need a Santa on Christmas Day (which should have been pretty obvious) and so I was left with the task of ensuring that Santa was present to make all those little ones smile.

They were scared, and so was I.

Eyes bright with magical dreams.

Shying away on a greeting and

Some, only too happy to get away it seems

Both the kid and the Santa are scared

This kid was only too happy for the photograph

These kids were pretty happy to meet Santa

More smiles and joy!

And then there were the ones only too happy to see Santa. Beaming smiles showed us the magic that we had lost with our childhood. Their beliefs and happiness all entrusted to a magical dream land and on that day to me. Tasked with this important responsibility, I tried my best to impress them. But, then we had the skeptical ones

Are you the real Santa?

Your beard is false

Chimed the young ones in a suspicious tone

Santa, without the familiar calls ?

By then I had become exhausted

Poor little guy! He was afraid of Santa

While the elves (basically M.and S.) shouted Ho! Ho! Ho! Santa is here everybody! Santa (me) roamed around the mall as a unique spectacle for the day getting photos clicked with a lot of people.

Older ones weren't far behind!

Merry Christmas to young and old alike!

With friends who were out partying on Christmas in Select City Walk

And as all good things do, this day also came to an end (a little early than usual). S. had a train out of town at 4 so we forewent lunch (we didn't have much of an option, the food court was chock-full and so was Dunkin' Donuts!). After a quick change in the wash room I was back to being myself again.

Christmas end was near,

The festivities were at their peak.

Santa had doled out the smiles and gifts,

Away, out of the corner he did sneak.

One of the last photos (you can spot S. 's luggage behind him )

A brilliant surprise and a fantastic prologue to that at Khan Chacha's (sorry S. you had to miss it) made my birthday complete. It was only when we were setting off towards the metro station did we realize that in our happy celebrations, we had added little moments of joy to many kids' Christmas experience. Be it fate that willed it or just a happy coincidence we cannot say. Christmas is special! To share and to spread love and happiness is what the spirit of Christmas is all about. Hope that everyone had a great Christmas.

My only normal photograph from the day! (S. is missing, we'll photoshop him into this)

And hopping on to the sleigh

"Away Rudolph, our job is done"

"The kids are happy, the world joyous."

" Merry Christmas! Hope you had a lot of fun"

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Signed

Santa Claus

An important afterthought :

It is one thing to have friends who care, another to have ones who are with you always but the best ones are those who sculpt your life around you!

I am blessed to have the best of friends that anyone can have. This plan though utterly ridiculous turned out to be one that I enjoyed to the maximum. To be honest, at the end I did not want to change my garb. It was they who made the day special . Thank you guys!