[bright Christmas music]
- Jeff McMullen: I think what's so endearing about Santa
is that he's really the embodiment
of the Christmas spirit.
My name is Jeff McMullen, also known as Santa Mac.
[playful Christmas music]
I bring a somewhat of a unique skill set
because of my family entertainment background
to the Santa community.
I wake up now kind of like Santa, and it's a continuum.
The better Santa I become,
the better person I become, and likewise.
In '23, I was inducted
into the International Santa Claus Hall of Fame.
I'm the first and only from Wisconsin,
which really touched my heart because we've got some awesome,
I mean incredible Santas
and Mrs. Clauses throughout Wisconsin.
When you first put on the red suit, you go,
"Oh, okay, and this is kind of fun,"
and then somebody calls you Santa,
and quite often, that's where people's development stops.
But there's so much more.
? Merry, a very merry merry Christmas ?
? Santa's coming soon ?
? Soon Santa's coming, ho ho ho ?
? Merry, Merry Christmas ?
- Jeff: All right, let's stay here.
Now we're gonna, we're gonna bend down.
Kringle U is a training company, and we do both online training
as well as face-to-face training.
- Santa, what are you doing? - I'm going bowling.
- You're going bowling?
Cool.
- Jeff: And we have about 20, 25 students
that come in from around the country
to study for the three days.
- You have to have fun being Santa.
How can you not?
Being the jolly old elf that's 1,745 years old,
this is a great thing to be.
- Whether you're a first-year Santa
or you're 50-year veteran,
the information is right to the point of what you need.
- Well, the perfect Santa laugh.
That's different for everyone.
Some people have that real deep, "Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho."
Mine is more just a, "Ho, ho" just kind of a chuckle.
[laughs] [jingle bells]
- You know, it's how do you react
when something unusual happens?
- There's always funny that happens.
I was doing work for a business, kind of a tractor supply store.
I was expecting to work with children.
And the whole community,
they brought chickens and pigs and horses and dogs.
It was the quintessential Wisconsin experience. [laughs]
- I've got probably about seven pages of notes,
ready to be Santa even better for the people down in my area.
- The main thing that I received from it
is how to develop my character further.
- Jeff: Do the little magic, a little hocus-pocus,
and I can change that into something different.
It can be as simple as how to hold the book
and turn the pages so that the children can see.
When he shouted and called them all by name.
Don't roll your eyes.
Even though sometimes there are parents
that are quite difficult to work with, I'll be honest.
I wish there were two lines when I work an event,
a children's line and an adult line.
It would make my role much easier.
[bright music]
- His experience with Ringling Brothers
and Barnum and Bailey Circus
and just enjoying his company has been great over the years.
- If you're not a good person, it comes out.
Jeff is the epitome of being a good person.
- When you look in the mirror
before you leave your physical home
to go out into the community, if you look in the mirror
and you see yourself in a Santa suit, you're not there.
You've got to look in the mirror and go,
"Oh, my goodness, there's Santa.
[laughs] Oh, my goodness, yes, you are Santa."
It really comes down to if I want others to believe
that I'm Santa, I have to believe I'm Santa myself first.