Our Professor: Mr. Santa Claus

We were always told as elementary students to bring an apple for our teachers to get on their good side, but for one professor at Cal State Long Beach, leaving a plate of cookies and some milk behind is a much more effective way to get on his "nice list." That is because Daniel Thompson, 50, is the university's only professor who also suits up as Santa Claus each holiday season.

Daniel, who prefers to go by Danny, is very passionate about his work and students here at Cal State Long Beach, where he has worked as an advanced studies in education and counseling professor since 1990, but what really puts a 'twinkle in his eye' is the joy he get from portraying Santa Claus every holiday season. Danny got his start portraying Kris Kringle in 2001, when he joined a group called the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas, an elite group of around 700 Santas with, you guessed it, real beards, after a suggestion by some friends on account of his "jolly nature."

The following year he started his own entertainment company called A Santa For All Seasons, which he uses as a booking agency to find Santa jobs. That Christmas eight years ago, Danny professionally portrayed Santa for the first time. This year will be his eighth season.

Danny's Santa work usually begins right around Thanksgiving and goes through Christmas Day, working evenings and weekends at a variety of jobs, including corporate parties, school functions, and private parties. On Christmas Day, Danny takes off from his paid gigs and visits a local hospital's pediatric ward.

"Can you imagine being stuck in a hospital on Christmas Day?" he says. "I like to bring a little joy into a child's life, especially if he or she has to be in the hospital on that day."

Danny remembers a Christmas he almost spent in the hospital in 1997 after having surgery. "Through a lot of prayer," he was able to go home to his family on Christmas Eve. "This is one of the main reasons I like to visit children in the hospital on Christmas Day," he explains.

To prepare for his role as Santa, Danny bleaches his naturally red beard, which he grows year-round, and hair so it's "glossy white." Every January, he trims his beard and then lets it grow until Christmas. In fact, the last time he completely shaved his beard off was during his undergraduate years in the early 80s. On top of that, every year as Christmas approaches, Danny brushes up on his pop-culture and studies popular toys so he can actually talk to children about what presents they want, if the real Santa knows the difference between a Gameboy and PSP, then Danny sure does too. And most importantly, he smiles and laughs a lot.

As a child, Danny didn't really enjoy Christmas. But since his Santa gig started almost a decade ago, his feelings have changed dramatically. "Seeing the joy on a child's face, I absolutely love Christmas now," he gushes. He recounts one Christmas when a little boy, dressed in a suit, came to see him as Santa and asked for office supplies. "He wanted to start a business and make millions of dollars. The entrepreneurial spirit in this kid was great. He will probably be a millionaire by the time he is twenty." Although Danny enjoys every aspect of Christmas - presents, the cookies (he likes oatmeal raisin, are you paying attention current students?), and carols (his favorites are 'Silent Night' and 'Away in a Manger') - his favorite part of Christmas is telling children about the real reason for the holiday.

"I love telling children about the birth of Jesus and how He loves each of them," he says.

Along with teaching and portraying St. Nick, Danny is currently pursuing his PhD in Higher Education from Claremont Graduate University - He will graduate December 2010 (will they let him wear his Santa robe in place of a graduation robe?). Danny also adds membership to the Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas and the International Order of Santas to his impressive Santa résumé. As this holiday season approaches, Long Beach State Professor Danny Thompson is ready yet again to down the red and white suit and bring happiness to children and adults like.

Just don't forget the oatmeal cookies.