Santa Charles spreads joy to Georgetown schools, families
Sometimes kids dream a little too big when they’re coming up with their Christmas lists. And sometimes, Santa has to propose more appropriate alternatives.
“I had one boy ask me for a real Ferrari,” joked Charles Guillote, who has worked as a Santa impersonator for the past eight years. “I had to tell him that Santa and his elves make Hot Wheels — these little cars that are about three inches long. I said to him ‘I don’t think you could reach the pedals of a real Ferrari.’ ”
Mr. Guillote said dressing as Santa is a role he never intended to have, but one that found him.
He had been working as a substitute teacher at Pickett Elementary School and was headed to the administrative office to request some time off to attend a motorcycle rally in Daytona Beach.
When he walked in, he heard the staff say, “Well, there’s our Santa!”
“I looked around to see who it was, and there was only me,” Mr. Guillote said. “I had a short beard, and they were looking [for a Santa] for their Christmas event.”
Mr. Guillote agreed to play Santa at the event. He posed with students for photos and gave out Christmas bells, all while wearing his motorcycle boots.
Since then, Mr. Guillotte — who now goes by Santa Charles professionally — has done over 1,000 home visits. He said most requests are based on word of mouth, and business has been booming, with 150 scheduled visits this year alone, including gigs in Austin, Leander, Round Rock and Georgetown.
“You know how the Grinch’s heart grew three times? I believe that my heart grows three times when I do what I do,” he said. “I see it more as a service, as an opportunity to give. When I do [unpaid] school visits, that is my way of giving back to those families in the community. I do several here in Georgetown.”
In Georgetown, Santa Charles has visited Purl and Williams Elementary schools, as well as Santa Rita Elementary in Liberty Hill and Upstreams Learning Preschool in Round Rock, among others.
“I tell the kids that I heard there were a bunch of super nice kids [at their schools], and that entitles them to a special visit from Santa,” he said.
In addition to parties and photo sessions, Santa Charles also does home visits. His first visit of the day can be as early as 7:30 a.m., while his last visit can be as late as 10 p.m. Since December 1, he’s had 4-8 visits a day.
“Recently, I had one little boy around the age of 6 meet me in the driveway and say ‘Santa come here, I know just where you’re going to sit.’ Then he led me inside the decorated living room to sit by the fireplace,” Mr. Guillotte said.
There are several families that he has visited for consecutive years, where he’s watched their kids grow up. He said he feels like part of he family, and can’t imagine Christmas without a visit.
“I have a book called The First Christmas,” he said. “One of my families had me read this book on our first visit — I’ve now visited them four years in a row. I got goosebumps reading the story because it tells the story of the birth of Christ.
“Now I ask parents if I can read that book so that we can talk about the real reason for the season, which is to celebrate the birth of Christ. Kids think that Christmas is just about getting presents and I tell them that they get presents because Jesus was born 2,000 years ago.”
During his visits, Santa Charles wears multiple hats. Recently he had to discipline an Elf on the Shelf. As he was having this private discussion with the elf, the kids were huddled around the corner listening.
“One of the kids touched the elf, and the elf was doing something bad,” he said. “He ate all the chocolate in the refrigerator. So I had to pick up the elf and take him into the other room to have a discussion. I warned him that if he continued his behavior that I was going to have to send him back up to the North Pole for training.”
Santa Charles said gift requests have changed over time. This year, he has noticed that there are many kids asking for Pokemon cards and Paw-Patrol toys. He has also received more requests for virtual reality, Xbox videogames and other technology, and some girls are asking for makeup a lot younger than before. Usually, he tells them that he’ll see what he can do.
“I don’t want to burst their bubble, but Santa ain’t bringing them no high-tech toys,” he said. “I also don’t bring them live animals. That’s between them and their parents. I explain to them that I wouldn’t want a snake or an alligator or an elephant in my sleigh because that would probably give me a heart attack.”
Santa Charles’ work has bled over into his personal life. He has four grandkids: Aaron, Allie, Hudson and Ryder, who all believe that he is Santa. He isn’t ready to tell them the hard truth just yet.
“I’m blessed to be able to share joy with children and their parents,” he said. “I probably get more back then they give. It’s special. Not everybody can be Santa. I think that I have a special gift to give.”