Costumes! Costumes! Costumes!

For the Newbie Santa….A Few Last Minute Tips…

Your suit is ready. Your belt, boot tops, glasses and gloves are lined up, and show time is very soon.

Some children love to sit on Santa’s lap and chatter about how good they’ve been and what they want for Christmas.  Then there are those children, who love Santa from across the room or at a distance, but want nothing to do with him at a close up range. 

Don’t take it personally.  It’s not you.  It’s your persona.

And what to do about those little guys who want to tug on your beard to see if it’s real or those looking for clues as to who you really are.  From my experience, I never really let them get an angle on me where they could try to tug a beard, or look for any telltales signs that might provide them with a clue that you are not really Santa.  I sit them on my lap facing a little bit away from me, and a little more towards the audience (family, parents, whatever).  They then have to turn their face a little to the rear to see me, but their body is angled away from me so as to prevent those grabs and deeper glances.

If you are a newbie, and concerned about the forthcoming interaction, your questions are probably less about the suit, and more about THE conversation.  And conversing with a 4 year old is always interesting to say the least. 

After plopping the child on my lap, I ask the usual questions such as ‘Were you a good little girl or boy?’, and ‘What would you like Santa to bring you?’ and offer a little advice on a few of their shortcomings (as provided by Mom or Dad). I might speak of my home at the North Pole or about Mrs. Santa or the Elves or the reindeer.  My needing to feed my reindeer or needing to see other children was always my exit line.

As to how to field the children’s questions?  Out of the mouths of babes come the least expected questions.  Either answer the question with a simple answer, or dazzle them with your intellect (G).  Basically brother, you’re on your own on this one.

How long should you hold the child?  Sometimes it seems like an eternity, and I’ve never been timed, but I would guess the average child is on my lap for only a couple of minutes.

Lastly, beware the Santa challenged child, though, for they might dampen thy suit.

Hmmm, maybe a backup pair of pants just in case.

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Christmas is only 1 day away! 

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Learn some great tips on how to age yourself for a Santa Claus costume for a Christmas party in this free holiday video clip on holiday costume ideas. Expert: Matt Cail  Filmmaker: randy primm

EDITORS NOTE:  Bad Advice, Matt.  Liquid Latex has ammonia as one of it’s primary ingredients.  It should NEVER be used that close to the eyes, IMHO.  Even after the ammonia evaporates, oft times there is a stinging or burning sensation.

It is also a latex (rubber  like) based product which might cause an allergic reaction, or if it gets into the lashes or brows it might be difficult in removing.  It also has a sheen, so that it will require a tad of powder to reduce the sheen.

BTW, the Santa Wig and beard used in this video is about a step or two up from the bottom grade.  Poor sewing, too much shine, doesn’t look real…..a poor choice in a wig and beard set.

Duration : 0:1:20

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Santa Masks

Although we’ve focused on Santa costumes and Santa beards and wigs over the past few weeks, and will begin to discuss some of the Santa accessories etc. over the next few weeks; today we discuss Santa masks.

We never carried Santa masks when we had a brick and mortar business although the qualities of some of the masks were absolutely great.

As great as they were, they were expressionless, unless of course you consider one permanent expression as an expression.  Even the youngest of children will recognize that a mask is not a face, even though they may not even know what a mask is.

Little of Santa’s face is seen behind a wig and beard, but his eyes are fully visible (not partially blocked off by the latex mask).  The wrinkle in his brow, or the glimpse of his lips add to the ‘realism’.  Masks simply don’t convey the same message.

If you can’t fool the child one year, you may have lost him him/her for the next several.

Once I said, if you have limited funds, buy the best wig and beard you can afford, and the least expensive suit.  

Likewise, if you have limited funds, but the least expensive wig and beard; and don’t waste a dime no matter how good the Santa mask may seem.

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Thanksgiving.

A day of rest, relaxation and overindulgence, and the last day before our annual Christmas surge of Santa suit rentals and sales, and Santa wigs and beards sales and all the other Christmas costumes and accessories.

Thanksgiving.

The day before all the office, church, school, organization and association Christmas parties begin prepping for the first 2 or three weeks of December.

The Snowmen are clean, the Reindeer are groomed. The toy soldiers are lined up in a row. Elf suits galore, as are Santa Belles and Mrs. Santa’s. A nutcracker or two.

Not to forget the array of Christmas Carol characters, Scrooge, Bob Cratchitt and the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.

We have white eyebrows and glasses and makeup for rosy red lips and cheeks for Santa; and gloves, and even padding, too. You forgot the Santa bells (not the Santa Belles) to ring out when Santa arrives? We have them as well.

But for tomorrow (or today if you read this on Thanksgiving) , A couple of we Pilgrims and a scattering of Native American friends will be breaking bread, followed by an afternoon of college and professional football. Hmmmm….I don’t remember football games in ‘21….1621, that is..

Caveat: We no longer have a brick and mortar business; but feel free to visit our advertisers on this page.

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Q: “The largest Santa costume I have ever seen was sized XL. And even those XL’s are quite meagre sized, closer to a large than an extra large. Surely if Santa was a big fat man, they should make Santa costumes to fit big fat men. There’s nothing in this world that looks as stupid as a thin Santa.”

A. “There’s nothing in this world that looks as stupid as a thin Santa.That’s the fist time I have ever heard a skinny person discriminated against. Too funny!”

Editors note: In my past life, we had Santa costumes that fit men well over 500 lbs. and the costumes were listed as XXL or even XXXL. Presently, most suits are manufactured in Asia, and don’t seem to follow most sizing standards.  I would recommend checking with your nearest fulltime costume shop.  Here is a link that will assist you.  

http://www.costumers.org

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Learn how to add trousers a Santa Claus costume for a Christmas party in this free holiday video clip on holiday costume ideas. Expert: Matt Cail Contact: www.homepaintings.biz Bio: Matt Cail is an artist who works in oil, water color and acrylic paints, among others. Filmmaker: randy primm

Duration : 0:1:21

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Care and Cleaning of Your Santa Costume 

Because most Santa’s perspire heavily during a visit with the children, and sometimes even are the recipient of a wetting; it is recommended that the Santa outfit be cleaned on a regular basis; and in general, dry cleaning is probably the best way to do the cleaning.

BUT (notice that’s all caps) the white trim might become permanently yellowed after a dry cleaning or two or a few.  Also dry cleaning rarely removes the lipstick and rouge stains that we mentioned earlier.

If the trim is felt, then the best thing you can do is dry clean the entire outfit.  If the trim is a plush like material, it should be removed and then laundered to both clean it, and fluff it out to bring it back to its almost original appearance.

If possible, and you have a little time, it’s best to strip off the white trim and launder (as in Tide or Oxydol) it using a washer and dryer.  The first time you do this it is very time consuming because of the closeness of the stitches.  It’s much easier the second time IF you baste the white trim back on instead of machine sewing it back on.

Caveat: Washing the entire suit, including the white trims, will probably cause the red to bleed into the white, thus giving you a nice red suit with PINK trim.

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Lipstick on your Santa Beard and Wig? 

‘I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus’.  Jimmy Boyd sang this song in the fifties and it’s still popular some 50 years later.  Does anyone know if Mommy smudged lipstick on Santa’s beard and hair, or the white trim on his suit during this encounter? 

It’s really more likely that Santa got the lipstick and/or rouge on himself by applying too much makeup.  Santa needs pink cheeks and cherry red lips to really look like Santa.

Unfortunately, Santa’s white beard, and sometimes the white trim on his suit pay the price.

Fret not!  There are solutions that will at least reduce the stainage if not remove it in total.

Lip stick remover is probably the best solution to remove the makeup from the beard.  At worst, it will reduce the stain from red to a light pink.  Washing the beard, ala yesterdays post, may reduce the damage even further.

Later we will discuss how to clean Santa’s suit, to include the lipstick on the white trim. 

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The care and cleaning of a Santa beard and wig.

If the quality of your Santa wig and beard set is such that it is washable (some wig and beards set are cotton, mohair, or cheap synthetics and should not be washed), then washing your set should be done periodically.  If you opt not to wash the set, then a good spraying with Lysol or some other disinfectant should be used after every use, particularly on the mustache and chin strap, as well as the base (cloth or net base) of the wig.

Caveat.  Never, never have the wig and beard dry cleaned.  It might end up so matted that you will never get it looking good again, even with extensive brushing.

Using a mild detergent/soap, gently soak the wig and beard in water and then gently brush the interior of the wig, and the back of the mustache and chin strap with a stiff brush.  If you’ve used Spirit Gum to adhere the mustache to the upper lip, then you might need to use a spirit gum remover (likely available at your local costume shop) as part of this step in the process. 

The wig and beard at this point might be combed (again gently) to make certain the knotted and matted areas are removed.  Even though the wig/beard set may be naturally and permanently curled, the objective is to have it as straight and mat free as possible.  Then it (the set) should be layed on a terry cloth towel to dry naturally. Heat is a huge enemy, so never use a hair dryer to hasten the drying process.

If one is so inclined to ‘dress’ the wig and beard, that is, to re-wave it, this is probably a good time to do it…while it is still wet. 

We used clamps and ‘marceled’ (waves) the set.  The waves were alternated in rows from left to right and then right to left.  Visualize a 1920’s movie star and that is the effect you want in general 

Is this time consuming?  Yes, but you’ll have a much better looking Santa beard and wig for next season. 

On storage, yak hair and other natural hair can be affected by the light and cause the wig and beard to yellow if not properly stored.  Like a white wedding dress, it’s always a good idea to wrap the wig and beard in blue tissue paper.

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