Santa brings joy to Boise children during the toughest of times — even with a mask
There is a craving in all of us, buried beneath responsibilities and worry, anxiety and darkness. Dig deep through the muck and it’s there, a flicker of childlike wonder that steadfastly refuses to go out. It nudges at our soul, especially this time of the year, just waiting to be released.
So hush for a moment. Pause … listen.
Do you hear it? I think it’s sleigh bells. I think … wait — wait… The sound echoes in my memory and wakens the little girl inside. It cracks open my heart and melts my hard edges — totally in spite of myself. I do not want to be happy. These days do not deserve a lightness of being.
“Ho ho ho,” he said. And there it is.
“Santa is the hope and joy of Christmas,” he said. “He’s the happiness and joy of the season.”
Bob Albert is Santa Bob, who has portrayed Santa for more than 30 years. And not just at Christmastime, but year-round; with his long white hair, bushy beard and mustache curled just so, he’s the spitting image of the rotund elf himself.
“I’ve been blessed to look like the man,” he said. “So I like to give the joy and love that Santa portrays.”
In case you were worried: There is little — including coronavirus — that could stop Santa. (Whew.) Things were different this year, to be sure. But Santa shrugs. Social distancing has its advantage on Christmas Eve.
“Children can’t try and sneak up in the middle of the night and catch me at the Christmas tree,” he chuckles.
To children, he says: “I have to be safe. If you want me to come back next year — no peeking.”
And kids get it. Because so many other people are wearing masks, it’s not unusual now for everyone to do so.
That’s the best part, he says. Children understand that everybody has to stay safe — including Santa Claus.
There’s some sadness, however, because Santa loves snuggling up to children — that’s how Santa Bob got hooked. “The look on the children’s eyes when they go … ‘Ahh! He’s real! Oh — Santa!’
“You just get nailed right here,” he says, tenderly touching his heart.
Christmas looks a little different during COVID
There were no children sitting on his lap this year. “It hurts me because I love to give the kids and little babies a hug and hold newborns and have the children tell me how much they love me and give me a hug.”
Instead, there was always a pile of presents or a plexiglass barrier or the space of a room between Santa and kids.
“(Social distancing) hurts, but you know it’s important,” he says. “Santa has to be safe.” He chuckles again. “Because I travel the world, I would be the super-spreader.”
Santa Bob is 72 years old. He’s diabetic, he has asthma; he’s a triple bypass recipient. (“Twice in one day,” he adds for effect. “Sprung a leak the first time, so I had to go back in.”) Because of his health — and because of his Santa responsibilities — he just could not get sick.
“But I want Christmas to be happy. I want it to be exciting.”
He was not alone. Even before Thanksgiving, he marveled at the number of Christmas lights already decorating neighborhoods. “Drive around the Treasure Valley tonight. I guarantee one out of every other house is lit,” he said. “We want happiness.”
What’s important is that Santa could deliver his message of cheer even from afar — and he had a mountain of work to do before crunch time on Christmas Eve. During Saint Alphonsus’ Festival of Trees, for instance, he recorded nearly 100 personalized video messages to children for the fundraiser, in lieu of the traditional gala, fashion show and line of children waiting to personally tell him secrets.
He was booked solid on photo shoots with three professional photographers who take family portraits with Santa — this year, properly distanced, or two photos cleverly blended; he attended neighborhood tree lightings where Santa rides in a carriage or hay wagon waving to people in their yards instead of receiving children one-on-one.
“I’ve had people say, ‘Just come to my front yard and wave to my kids.’”
He all but put his finger aside of his nose.
“Now children,” he said, looking right into my eyes. “It’s important to enjoy Christmas.
“It’s not always buying a lot of toys and things — it’s what you do as a family and for the people you love — to give the Christmas spirit to.”
He leaned forward with a smile. I couldn’t help it; I grinned back.
“When you see Santa, you generally smile,” he says knowingly. “Smiling is always great. That’s the great contagiousness — that smile.”
Now more than ever, that’s what we need to give to one another; that and the generosity of his spirit.
“Santa is showing up,” he assured me. “He’s giving people hope.” Hope during a pandemic. Hope during uncertainty. Hope in the midst of darkness — as he always has.
I never saw them, but bells jingled gently as he left. And I swear I heard him exclaim, as he walked out of sight, “Happy Christmas to all and to all, a good night!”
