Santa has always been in the business of bringing smiles to the faces of children across the world, but what brings a smile to Santa’s face? According to Mike Goree, Starkville’s Santa of 10 years, “the absolute joy and wonder in the kids’ eyes is what I enjoy most about being Santa.”
Goree said he has been Santa for the Starkville area “ever since my beard turned white.”
He entered into the Santa profession because of his close resemblance to Ole St. Nick, and ever since has been appearing at civic activities, parties, parades and a variety of other other events.
The children that visit Santa are always entertaining, according to Goree.
Goree said kids “come in all flavors.”
Many tug his beard to make sure he’s real, causing Goree to lose a lot of hair.
With almost one-third of all of the children coming to visit Santa being petrified, Goree’s job is not always easy.
A few years ago, Goree said he came across the feistiest child yet. Goree was in Leigh Mall in Columbus in late January when a child of about 4 or 5 came up to him with his hands balled into fists and placed firmly on his hips.
The child then proceeded to kick Goree in his shin and exclaimed, “Damnit, I wanted a Jeep!”
Goree also comes in contact with the children who are beginning to not believe in Santa any longer.
Goree said once, at a Cub Scouts activity, he was dressed as Santa, and one of the scouts looked at him and asked, “Are you real?” Goree, in reply, said, “Well, are you real?” When the boy replied with a “yes,” so did Goree. The boy then screamed, “Momma,” jumped up and ran away.
The items asked for by the children are also very interesting. Some children just plop down on Santa’s lap and ask for “everything,” while others only want Santa to bring back a deceased relative.
Always popular on Santa’s list are video games, trains, bikes and wagons, and, in recent years, new popularity has been seen in old-fashioned dolls.
However, not all of Santa’s visitors are young. An 87-year-old woman once visited Santa and took her very first picture with him.
“Everybody wants to believe,” is Goree’s theory. He said magic is the key ingredient to the night of Dec. 25.
There is magic involved in one man getting around the whole world in only one night with the help of flying reindeer.
While Santa is around town, the reindeer are “at the North Pole in the reindeer barn carbo-packing and getting cared for and groomed,” Goree said.