What Does Mrs. Claus do for Home visits?

[Sinterklaas]

Greetings Brothers and Sister Clauses (Especially Mrs. Clauses),

For years now, my Mrs. Claus (Dianne) Anna has sat with Santa and given out candy canes, and generally been a PRESENCE of the Season.  This has not been intentional and never meant to limit Mrs. Claus' involvement in our celebration or that of our Hosts but we really never considered Her role in home visits.  In past, She has read with Santa from classic tales such as the Night Before Christmas, but primarily Hers was to accompany Santa in his rounds.

We'd like some thoughts and ideas on things Mrs. Claus can do that are not terribly involved but make her more a presence in our home visits and since we Bill as "Santa and Mrs. Claus", something that makes her more a functional part of our visit.

Please be kind in your suggestions and let us know what YOU might suggest or recommend.  Out visits are often not great in number but as our visits and recognition increases we'd like to have a more active role for Mrs. Claus.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Respectfully requested,

Santa Allen of Mount Morris, NY

[Santa Gordon]

This is a subject that has garnered a great deal of attention over the last 3 years or so. As for Mrs.Claus? Se is not just set dressing anymore!
 

Mrs. Claus (for me) has been a photographer working with the children and getting the best pictures from them she can. She is an excellent Story teller! (even if she tells some embarrassing things about me like how I snore and how she tries to keep me from snacking between snacks) She is also a fantastic line dancer! Teaches the little ones how to do the latest dances from the North Pole! Mrs. Claus also teaches them how to sing my favorite carols!

Mrs. Claus has a special way with the children and can calm them while she paints their face and hands. Mrs Claus also has a warm and inviting lap for those children that would rather sit on her lap instead of Santa's old hard, spiky, knobby, ugly knee. She also has taught them how to do crafts like making Christmas cards or decorate ornaments.  Always amazing how when we get back home to the North Pole there seems to be 3 times as much glitter on her than what we brought! 

Lately though, Mrs. Claus has been going out on home visits on her own! She bakes cookies right there in the family kitchen with the children helping! It take about 15 minutes to mix the ingredients she has already measured and brought ahead of time, while they do that in their little aprons the oven is preheating. They then put the cookies on the baking sheet and clean up the kitchen packing away the utensils and bowls. While the cookies are baking, she sits in the living room and tells stories and poses for pictures. Finally the timer "Ding!s" and the finished cookies are placed on a cooling rack as a special platter is brought out of her bag and the cookies are transferred from the baking sheet to the cooling rack and the baking sheet is placed in with the other cook ware to come back with Mrs. Claus.

Time for one more short story as the cookies cool and are then placed on the special platter for me..er for the family to enjoy later and they keep the special platter and the children keep their aprons! Imaging that! Cookies waiting for me from Mrs. Claus that she baked and prepositioned along the route!  Funny thing is, I never did find any of those cookies on my ride! Someone must have eaten them!

Ah well, she makes plenty of them for me at home. In fact here comes another batch of those peanut butter, oatmeal, raisin, walnut, chocolate chip, Lima bean, Brussel sprout cookies I have grown so accustom to! Time to get chewing!

Yours,

Santa Gordon 

satbobs.com

[Kevin Fast]

Great info, I enjoyed that. Thanks Santa Gordon.

[Santa Marty]

I wouldn't know what to do with one, but it's fun fantasizing.??

[Santa Bill Reiller]

If we ever get my wife in better health she will enjoy being Mrs. Claus.

[Santa Bob Ford]

As usual Santa Gordon is a wealth of knowledge. Thank you. I had my Mrs/ Santa read this.

 

Santa Bob

Edited April 27, 2016 by Santa Bob Ford

[MagicalMrsClaus]

I'm going to be "that guy" and resurrect a 3 year old dead post. 

Our Mrs Claus somehow always ends up stealing the show.... My Santa is mellow and sweet, where I, Mrs Claus, and more boisterous and excitable. I do try to remain demure, but the spirit fills me so hard I just want to explode. Some our regulars refer to the service as "Mrs Claus and Santa" instead of vice versa. 

Mrs Claus does the reading of The Night Before Christmas (with Santa doing ho-ho-hos and On-Dasher-On-Dancers, and sound effects while I read) and it gets loud. Sometimes I jump up from my seat when I say "I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter" ... I'm a lunatic I swear. 

Mrs Claus also does crafts, stuff-a-bear (which is like Build a Bear only we bring the stuff and do the whole thing right there in the home or party location).

I am a professional face painter, but Mrs Claus does NOT face paint while in the role BECAUSE... I have a lot of regulars. I face paint SO many kids SO often that I am afraid they will recognize me as The Face Paint Lady when I am doing Mrs. Claus. I will fill in as a balloon twister as Mrs Claus if we don't have any balloon twisting elves available for that gig. 

I love this cookie idea that Gordon uses. Santa Gordon have you run into any problems with food-handling, permits, etc while doing this particular service? 

On 4/25/2016 at 1:42 AM, Santa Gordon said:

Lately though, Mrs. Claus has been going out on home visits on her own! She bakes cookies right there in the family kitchen with the children helping!

 

 

 

 

[JollyFatMan]

On 9/5/2019 at 11:30 AM, MagicalMrsClaus said:

Santa Gordon have you run into any problems with food-handling, permits, etc while doing this particular service? 

I'm no Santa Gordon, but since he's been offline for a few months at this point, and I spent a few years as a line cook/prep cook/sous chef, I figured I'd jump in!

It varies a little by jurisdiction/state, but for most States “Food employee certification” or “food handler certification” is not required for unpaid volunteers, temporary employees, or temporary food establishments hosting one-time events.

Since Mrs Claus is serving as a "temporary employee", and the host home is serving as a "temporary food establishment" she'd be exempt from requiring a certificate in most jurisdictions.

[rdpugh]

My wife thought about doing the "having cookie ingredients assembled ahead of time" like a jar mix.  Now a days you don't know what the children are allergic to, or it has got to the point of "we only use fair trade chocolate that is harvested on the first full moon of blah blah blah".  What she does instead is help make cookies with ingredients supplied by the host family.

[MagicalMrsClaus]

2 hours ago, rdpugh said:

My wife thought about doing the "having cookie ingredients assembled ahead of time" like a jar mix.  Now a days you don't know what the children are allergic to, or it has got to the point of "we only use fair trade chocolate that is harvested on the first full moon of blah blah blah".  What she does instead is help make cookies with ingredients supplied by the host family.

Ugh yeah good point. Everyone is allergic to everything nowadays, plus lifestyle choices (such as veganism, etc) interfere with the simplicity of a basic cookie recipe.