Goodbye, Idaho. Hello, Texas!
We've been in Texas now for only a few weeks. Having graduated on the 22nd of July while just arriving in Texas the day before, things have been very different than the last few months. The in-laws have been wonderful in putting us up while we do what we can to fix up my wife's granny's old place. We've been fortunate to have that lined up for a while, though with COVID-19 employment and saving up for an apartment right off the back has been improbable.
Now as I'm having a bit of time to write, and surrounded by good company, I'm reminded of (in contrast) how lonely I was when I first started out as a Santa Claus.
It wasn't until halfway through my 3rd season I discovered the Christmas community. Until then it had just been a lot of googling and an ever growing stack of unanswered questions. My mission in producing the Jr. Claus Workshop is to answer those basic questions for the beginner Santa Claus representative.
As many of you with hobbies know, the main requirement for doing something you love is to have space to do it in (followed closely by the need of financial support to continue said hobbies etc.). As someone who has a young family, my filmmaking equipment, Santa gear, and instruments for my Beatles tribute band have been living in corners and closets for the last few years. Now they will have a place specifically for them, and more importantly a space to work on developing and enhancing my skills in different areas.
Though the room isn't as big as I would ideally like, having a room at all is a blessing. We've painted it white and blue (perhaps a subconscious callback to my university colors?), and thrown everything in there that still needs to be sorted. It's a rough space right now but it has great potential.
I'm excited to start anew in this place. The weather is hot and humid, but I know the winters will be much easier since we're coming from a much colder environment. We never needed electric blankets there, we for sure won't need any of them here. Due to COVID-19 I haven't been given the full tour by the Mrs. about her favorite places and other fun spots to visit, but what I have seen so far has been lovely.
I have set some personal goals in regards to representing Santa Claus this year. First, I have to finish my daily goals of painting more and more of the house, that's for sure, but I want this year to be better than before. To be honest, I can't wait to start building my next sleigh but that won't be underway for the next year or two. What I am looking forward to is utilizing my filmmaking degree to enhance my Santa Claus portrayal.
Perhaps once this lets up I can see about visiting some other Santa reps and getting familiar with the area, but I think it's safe to assume that my new beginnings here will be much different from my previous 4 seasons.
I'll be continuing to make video assets available for patrons of this site, as well as offer freelance video consultation to help provide for my family until I am able to find permanent employment here in The Woodlands area of Texas.
Thank you all for your support, it's much needed and appreciated.
Yours as always,
Santa Stuart