My inbox is totally out of control this time of year, but this email from a lovely Play & Go reader, Kerry, asking for help, stood out:
This is probably a stupid question but do you know where I can take my twins to a Santa with a real beard? They are 9 this year and we’ve seen one that used to be at Big W Elizabeth and had photos since they were born. He was the same one until last year when they had one with a fake beard and my son refused to have his photo taken or give his letter to Santa, and this year Big W are not doing them at all, so i neeeeed to find one my son will go to as I think this will be the last year he’ll believe. ?
We want to keep the magic alive for as long as possible for all Father Christmas believers (like ourselves) so we put the call on our Facebook page and never imagined this would happen: we found the actual Santa they had been seeing all those years!
It makes my heart sing to see the wonderful Play & Go Adelaide community come together to help one another once again. Many readers recommended places to see Santas with a real beard and then the actual Santa – Santa Ian – got in touch.
The daughter of a dear friend of Santa Ian saw the post and remembered her mother talking about a great Santa she knew, so she tracked him down to see if he could help them. She had no idea at the time that he was in fact their Santa they were looking for! It’s what us Adelaide people proudly describe as “that’s SO Adelaide!” The two degree of separation in South Australia was at work, in the most fantastic way.
Here is Santa Ian’s response on our Facebook post:
I am so sorry you had problems last year at Big W. I worried about you last year how you might have got on knowing that I have been your own personal Santa for so many years (I started there in 2004).
Unfortunately for both of us Elizabeth Big W was told last year that they had to go through an agency so they did.
So I was at Big W Marion last year.
I will be at Mawson Lakes Christmas Carols this Sunday from 5.30 to 7.30 if you want to come by and say hello, same throne, same me. But I now have a wonderful traditional beard set as I had shaved off my real beard back in May this year. It looks really good as it is made from real human hair!
It is so realistic I don’t think your lad will notice but I cannot promise that. I do hope to get to see you and receive their treasured lists.
If you wish to have a preview I will be on stage for the last song at the Playford Christmas Carols the night before – this Saturday.
Needless to say Kerry was absolutely blown away.
“Oh my goodness I just want to cry,thank you. we will definitely try to see you and get pics done. Caleb will be soooooo happy.”
And as if our hearts were not already melted, Santa Ian’s own daughter, Sara, then posted this comment:
See dad, we always knew who Santa was and have never stopped believing in you xxxx you bring so many smiles to so many children and do some wonderful work with kids who are afraid of Santa or have needs that are different to other children. Reading these comments brought a tear to my eyes knowing how much you have changed young lives. With all my love to you Santa Ian
If you’d also like to see this wonderful Santa Ian, he will be on stage for the last song at the Playford Christmas Carols this Saturday 3 December 2016. On Sunday 4 December 2016 he will be appearing at Mawson Lakes Christmas Carols from 5.30 to 7.30. It turns out that this weekend’s events are the last ones Sant Ian will be appearing in Adelaide this Christmas season, so it was just lucky he was found in time. From next week he will be heading to Sydney to appear in the Sydney Santa Spectacular.
Christmas Pageant Guide – your guide to South Australia’s Christmas Pageants
Christmas Events Guide – check out what’s happening around Adelaide leading up to Christmas
Adelaide Christmas Carols Guide
Christmas Lights Adelaide 2016 – the best streets to see Christmas lights around Adelaide
At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.
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