He sees you when you’re Zooming, he knows when you’re online… COVID hits pause for mall's Mr. & Mrs. Claus, so like a lot of other grown-ups they're working remotely, meeting Winnipeg kids on computer screens
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/12/2020 (1437 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
What’s a mall Santa to do when a global pandemic means he can’t make a living as a mall Santa?
If you’re 63-year-old retired teacher J. Craig Oliphant, you take a job as an online singing Santa doing Zoom calls for kids, with your wife of 39 years at your side, portraying Mrs. Claus.
“I love it!” Oliphant says of his new holiday season gig. “I like it better than being a mall Santa. This (Zoom calls) is more personal. You really get to know the kids. We spend 20 minutes in each session and we sing about two or three songs.
“I love performing. There’s a lot of joy that comes from it,” he says.
Oliphant retired after 33 years in the classroom in 2013. Since then, the father of three daughters and grandfather of two had been substituting eight to 10 days a month in River East Transcona School Division as a music teacher.
“I do a lot of music substituting now because there’s not a lot of music subs around,” he says. “I bring my ukulele along to classrooms. I picked up the ukulele in retirement.”
His unique performing gigs have included being a dancing leprechaun at local casinos, and there’s a good chance many Winnipeggers have enjoyed his vocal chops when he performed with a host of local choirs, choral groups and bands over the years.
“I’ve been singing all my life,” Oliphant says during a break from his Zoom Santa sessions. “I’ve done about six shows on Rainbow Stage, and I’ve been doing Manitoba Opera productions since 1995. I’ve probably done around 30 operas by now.”
“I like it better than being a mall Santa. This (Zoom calls) is more personal. You really get to know the kids. We spend 20 minutes in each session and we sing about two or three songs.”
– J. Craig Oliphant
Oliphant has been playing the role of the Jolly Old Elf on and off for decades, sporting red-velvet suits whipped up by his wife Carla, who makes and collects costumes.
“I got asked to do Santa for a daycare years ago,” he says. “I did that for a few years. My wife made me a Santa costume. I think I’m operating with costume No. 3 right now. It’s beautiful.”
Last year, his daughter Heather, who operates a local children’s entertainment company, hired her mom and dad to portray the Clauses for kids at Outlet Collection Winnipeg. It was her father’s first gig as a mall Santa.
Holiday moments
Manitobans are preparing to celebrate a holiday season unlike any other in memory. We’d like you to share your stories of people going above and beyond to celebrate the season amid a pandemic.
Share them with columnist Doug Speirs at doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca
“My wife, Mrs. Claus, and I just sat there, and people came and did selfies with Santa, and my wife had story time with the children as Mrs. Claus,” he says. “It’s nice to have my wife there because it’s not so lonely for me. It’s fun, but at the end of the day you’re exhausted.”
They were teed up to reprise their festive roles this year, but with the pandemic surging and code-red restrictions in place, the mall job was grounded.
“Almost everything I loved about my life has been affected big time because of COVID-19,” Oliphant says. “I can’t do operas, I can’t sing with choirs, I can’t sing with kids in the classroom and I can’t be a mall Santa.”
Which is when his daughter hit on the idea of casting her parents as the singing Claus couple doing Zoom calls for kids who wouldn’t get a chance to spend face time with Santa this year.
(There is a fee for the Zoom calls. You can find more information at heathersprettyparties.com.)
“I thought that would be pretty cool,” Oliphant says of being Kris Kringle on the video-conferencing platform. “It’s been wonderful. We had about 14 Zoom calls on the weekend and about four daycares last week. It really got started last week.
“I have a set built, so my Santa Claus is at the North Pole. I’m sitting at a desk and Mrs. Claus comes in with my hot chocolate. There’s a Christmas tree and a window in the background. We read two stories and we get to know what the kids want for Christmas.
“Some parents send a lot of detailed information about the kids we can share. It really creates believability.”
Other than a couple of minor technical glitches that were quickly rectified, he says the singing Zoom Santa sessions with his wife at his side have been a holiday hit amid the gloom of the pandemic.
“The parents are very happy,” he says. “They become engaged themselves. They’re just loving it. The kids are so cute. It’s so special.
“I wish we didn’t have to charge for it, but we still have to make a living. It’s still pretty special. I really do enjoy it.”
doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca
Doug Speirs
Columnist
Doug has held almost every job at the newspaper — reporter, city editor, night editor, tour guide, hand model — and his colleagues are confident he’ll eventually find something he is good at.
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