What is the difference between someone dressed like Santa charging you $5 for a picture with your kid and a Times Square desnuda asking you for a $5 tip after you take a selfie?
Macys made a big deal out of a panhandling Santa outside the chain’s Herald Square store this week, claiming it detracted from the real Santa in the store.
“The one and only Santa Claus resides at Macys Santaland on the eighth floor of the store,” a spokesperson for the giant retailer said.
What? The real Santa — are they for real? I don’t know where Macys got the idea from, but I seriously doubt that the Santa at Macys is the genuine article. The real life Santa in the flesh, ya’ think?
Yeah right. And amazingly, the real, live Santa has rotating hours with 15-minute breaks, union rules, and sits at the end of a very long snaky line that winds its way through the toys and gifts that your child sees and then wants. Very, very clever.
This Herald Square Santa has the right idea. You get a photo with Santa and avoid purchasing the holiday package consisting of 15 wallet-sized photos, two 8-by-10s, and one 11-by-14 to take home. Plus you don’t have to go into the store and be bombarded by all the commercialized ho, ho, ho (I call it Santa Shock).
And did I mention no long lines to wait on?
I did it once when my daughter was very young. Silly me. There I was, fully prepped and ready for the gauntlet. I had strapped Bri in her stroller, pushed our way through thousands of shoppers, and impatiently waited on line. By the time we reached the Jolly Old Elf, I was more cranky than my daughter, and she was pretty cranky. She didn’t want to sit on his lap. She had a meltdown, and mine soon followed.
So would I recommend anyone taking their 2-year-old to see Santa? No siree.
Not for Nuthin™, but I say leave the panhandling Santa alone. No lines, no meltdowns, no holiday packages. Besides, I’d rather give my money to a fake Santa for a picture than a real naked cowboy with his butt in my face. The Santa makes a better Christmas card.
Follow me on Twitter @JDelBuono.
