There is a wonderful place north of where I live, it is The Bass Pro Outlet. Directly south of freeway 12o in Manteca, Ca lies a delightful place to go where you can experience the outdoors indoors. I can't believe that there is such a place for this indoor girl who loves to be in the mountains! My three boys and I checked out the place a few months ago and I fell in love with it. When you walk in it looks like you have entered a grand lodge in the Sierra Nevada's, complete with a fireplace and heads of animals, once alive, on the wall. Then as you continue to the store you walk through a tree that is a replica of the Sherman Oak tree in the Sequoias. For anyone who loves to fish, hunt, boat, camp or the like, this is the mecca of all things needed to do any of these things. If you like to decorate with the lodge look there is a home decor area, if you like to wear traditional type clothing, they have it, or need sun glasses, guns, pocket knives or even have a hankering for fudge (made on site) they have it at the Bass Pro Outlet. To the back of the store you will find a very large fish tank with a waterfall dropping from the upper story faux rocks, into the tank. The sound is wonderful! Needless to say, I love this place!
As you all know Christmas time is fast upon us and stores like these always need Christmas help. I applied for a job a few weeks ago and got hired on!
There is a large section in the back of the store where the boats are displayed, that they have clear out for Christmas and replace it with a Santa Wonderland. In Santa's Wonderland you can write a letter to Santa, play with the slot cars, shoot at animal shaped targets, shoot toy Nerf like guns and fish virtually on a t.v. screen. If you are in the mood for a snack there are fresh baked cookies, fudge, candied nuts, popcorn, and other treats at the little red and white striped topped fudge shop. But for me the best part is the cute little log house where Santa sits in front of and families line up to get their picture taken with Santa. My job is to take their picture and I love it (the pictures are even free)! For those of you who know me personally, one of my many passions is photography. It can get crazy busy taking pictures with Santa and I'm sure that it will get wilder as each day moves us closer to Christmas. I love Christmas, people and especially children, so this is great fun for a job.
I have never had the opportunity before to really get to know Santa Claus. He has always been that man in the mall that I refuse to stand in line to see, especially when I have to pay tons of bucks for a quick picture. But this year it is different, I get to really get close to Santa. When the line of people has died down, Santa, along with the other gal that works at the computer and printer and myself have a chance to talk and wait for the next customer. Now the interesting thing is that their is a different Santa for the weekday and the weekend and they couldn't be more different than the ghost of Christmas past and the ghost of Christmas future!
I started working on November 8th with the first Santa. When things started to get slow and no one was in line to see Santa, I started to chat with him. He has a real beard, and long white hair, and is 53 years old and very easy to talk to. I started by asking him about being Santa and in the conversation he said he started being Santa for church groups. I'm always very brave in asking questions and gingerly asked if he was a Santa for his church. As we talked I found out that he was a Christian believer just like me and I was delighted. He rides a Harley and goes to a biker church. He said that he looked at being Santa as a ministry. He is very soft spoken, kind, gentle and meek. This man will be such a pleasure to work with through the holiday season.
My next day to work was the following Tuesday and I got to meet Santa #2. He was taller than Santa #1, also had a real beard and hair, and seemed more outgoing. Oh what a splendid adventure to meet two Santas! This man was very good with the kids and loved to engage them in conversation. This was a delight to the children visiting with him but not good for me when I was told that we needed to get more people through the line quicker. Once again as the night slowed down after the respectable bedtime hours, I got to visit with this Santa. The questions were the same as before, as I wondered about how he came to be Santa and yet the answers played out much differently. This Santa had a different view on life and sees things in terms of energy that we give off and the universe. He told me that he meditated before his Santa job and how he believes in the energy he gives off. I understand what he is saying but these concepts are foreign to me. It will be interesting to get to know him.
As you all know Christmas time is fast upon us and stores like these always need Christmas help. I applied for a job a few weeks ago and got hired on!
There is a large section in the back of the store where the boats are displayed, that they have clear out for Christmas and replace it with a Santa Wonderland. In Santa's Wonderland you can write a letter to Santa, play with the slot cars, shoot at animal shaped targets, shoot toy Nerf like guns and fish virtually on a t.v. screen. If you are in the mood for a snack there are fresh baked cookies, fudge, candied nuts, popcorn, and other treats at the little red and white striped topped fudge shop. But for me the best part is the cute little log house where Santa sits in front of and families line up to get their picture taken with Santa. My job is to take their picture and I love it (the pictures are even free)! For those of you who know me personally, one of my many passions is photography. It can get crazy busy taking pictures with Santa and I'm sure that it will get wilder as each day moves us closer to Christmas. I love Christmas, people and especially children, so this is great fun for a job.
I have never had the opportunity before to really get to know Santa Claus. He has always been that man in the mall that I refuse to stand in line to see, especially when I have to pay tons of bucks for a quick picture. But this year it is different, I get to really get close to Santa. When the line of people has died down, Santa, along with the other gal that works at the computer and printer and myself have a chance to talk and wait for the next customer. Now the interesting thing is that their is a different Santa for the weekday and the weekend and they couldn't be more different than the ghost of Christmas past and the ghost of Christmas future!
I started working on November 8th with the first Santa. When things started to get slow and no one was in line to see Santa, I started to chat with him. He has a real beard, and long white hair, and is 53 years old and very easy to talk to. I started by asking him about being Santa and in the conversation he said he started being Santa for church groups. I'm always very brave in asking questions and gingerly asked if he was a Santa for his church. As we talked I found out that he was a Christian believer just like me and I was delighted. He rides a Harley and goes to a biker church. He said that he looked at being Santa as a ministry. He is very soft spoken, kind, gentle and meek. This man will be such a pleasure to work with through the holiday season.
My next day to work was the following Tuesday and I got to meet Santa #2. He was taller than Santa #1, also had a real beard and hair, and seemed more outgoing. Oh what a splendid adventure to meet two Santas! This man was very good with the kids and loved to engage them in conversation. This was a delight to the children visiting with him but not good for me when I was told that we needed to get more people through the line quicker. Once again as the night slowed down after the respectable bedtime hours, I got to visit with this Santa. The questions were the same as before, as I wondered about how he came to be Santa and yet the answers played out much differently. This Santa had a different view on life and sees things in terms of energy that we give off and the universe. He told me that he meditated before his Santa job and how he believes in the energy he gives off. I understand what he is saying but these concepts are foreign to me. It will be interesting to get to know him.
So far I have found this job to be a lot of fun and hardly feels like work. It has been a few years since I have had a paying job and have forgotten how the people you work with can be so diverse and bring so much into your life. I like both Santa's and think they both have such unique and wonderful qualities. I'm looking forward to working with both of they and getting to know them each.
