By Natalia Siewczynski ’28
The scariest place during the month of December. Kids are screaming. Lines are long, but at the heart of it, there he is. Santa Clause.
Red checks, bushy white beard, and never seen without a smile. Each child waits to sit on his lap. Some screaming their heads off, but it stops. Right when they sit on his lap it just stops. One look into his eyes and the child cannot think of a safer place.
It’s almost as if there is a special Santa magic. And that’s where the Noerr Santa University comes in- a company that specializes in holiday productions.
Each aspiring Kris Kringle attends the Santa University four-day bootcamp in Arvada, Colorado to make sure they are up to par with the St. Nicolas standards. Of course, anyone can put on a red suit and wish kids a merry Christmas, but the pros know that it’s more than the looks alone.
“The most important part of being Santa is definitely the heart,” said company founder Judy Noerr. “If a Santa has the heart of a Santa, everything else can be cared for.”
If there is anyone you want to trust with the production of Santa its Judy Noerr. When she was a little girl she sold and made Christmas cards, and as she got older she danced and eventually produced the show of “The Nutcracker.” You might say that she’s just a little passionate about the Christmas season.
The four-day university includes a variety of lessons taught to anyone aspiring to be the next St. Nick. It
is designed to prepare the individual for any circumstance, all the way down to how to trim and bleach the traditional Santa Beard.
Participants learn basic sign language and common phrases in Spanish so that they are able to communicate with diverse communities.
“Being Santa offers connection and the chance to really mean something to someone,” Noerr said.
Future Santas also attend classes in media. They are taught how to interact with the press and the perfect poses for the traditional Santa picture.
Noerr’s favorite event of the bootcamp is “Operation Santa’s Stocking.” Each year, Santas pack boxes for the troops in Afghanistan. The sounds of tearing packing tape and Christmas tunes sung by jolly St. Nicks fill the room with the spirit of Christmas.
So, next time you hear the clicking of reindeer on your rooftop or sit on St. Nick’s lap remember that the spirit of Christmas could not come without the help of Santa University.
THE BEAR FACTS 