It was great, says Santa
About the article
This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from January 1990.
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That's how Santa Claus described his visit to Cayman shortly before he boarded Cayman Airways on his way back to the North Pole.
Wait a minute... Cayman Airways? Doesn't Santa use a sleigh anymore? "Sure," said the bearded benefactor, "but Cayman is a long way from the North Pole and the reindeer get awfully tired. So on long trips like this I tend to leave them at home and take the jet."
According to Santa, who has shown up in every corner of the globe, the kids in Cayman were "outstanding".
"Everywhere I went the kids were great. They were all so well behaved and polite... I couldn't get over it. I haven't seen kids like that in a long time."
Santa's visit here was organised by the two Kiwanis Clubs. His arrival was the responsibility of the Kiwanis Club of Seven Mile Beach.
"It was fun coming in at the airport," said Santa. "About 200 kids were there, they had a band playing, there was so much excitement; even the parents were having fun." The next day, with gifts provided by the two clubs, the Kiwanis Club of Grand Cayman had Santa on a hectic schedule.
"We started out at West Bay, around 10 am, and by the time I got there they had a long line of youngsters waiting for me. They were standing neatly in line but when I showed up they started waving and yelling - we were like old friends."
Santa's helpers and the Kiwanis crew had spent the days before his visit wrapping hundreds of gifts (mostly toys and games) for the big day.
"The line at West Bay never seemed to end. We were there for nearly two hours and I must have had close to 300 kids on my knee. After a while I had to switch knees. One big kid, he must have weighed about 130 pounds, I said to him: 'You don't really want to sit on my knee, do you?" He said: 'Sure, I do.' He was a big one. The smallest one I had was about six months. Most of them said they wanted bikes and some asked for horses. One guy, about 8, wanted a car. I told him, "Have you talked to your daddy about this?""
From there, Santa set out for East End perched in a chair in the back of a pick-up truck.
"It was amazing; driving through George Town everybody was waving and yelling; it was great. People really turned on to Santa. When we got to Prospect where those guys are laying the pipes, I threw them some candy and they forgot about the work and started chasing the truck grabbing for more candies. It was hilarious."
Out in East End, around noon, things were quiet at first. The youngsters were lined up neatly in chairs inside the Civic Centre and it took about 10 minutes to get them cranked up.
"Once they got going they were wonderful. One little girl kept trying to pull my hair to see if it was real. That can hurt, let me tell you but I know it's just because they're so curious about Santa."
By now, the pace was beginning to take its toll so Santa went to Tortuga Club to have a lunch break but even there the people lit up when they saw the old gent. The next stop was North Side.
"We had about 25 kids at the North Side Town Hall and, again, they were as nice as they could be. Sometimes, Santa can get a rough ride from some of these youngsters but not down here."
By mid-afternoon, the bouncing around in the truck had taken its toll on Santa's behind and Santa's chair - the former was still in one piece but the latter was busted.
"Mrs. Claus was driving the truck and she's a wild driver - normally I don't let her drive the sleigh - so I now had to hang on trying to sit on a broken chair. That was tougher than dealing with 1,000 yelling kids. Next year we'll have to have a backup chair or get rid of Mrs. Claus as a driver."
In Bodden Town there were another 100 or so youngsters waiting for their famous visitor. "They had refreshments and cake and the kids were a lot of fun. At this point, we ran out of candies. We'll have to make a note in the diary to bring more candies next year. It was amazing how people went after those candies - the adults even moreso than the kids."
It was now around 5 pm but the long day wasn't over as Santa headed back east for the South Sound Community Centre.
There was a party there for foster children hosted by the Kiwaniannes. "By this time, Santa was starting to wilt but those kids revived me. They had games, drinks and I ended up staying there until almost 7:30."
The next day was Sunday and Santa spent all of it in bed.
"I needed that break to Cont'd. on page 10 from page 9 recuperate. It was good to get a break from the schedule and from Mrs. Claus crazy driving," he said.
On Monday, when the bearded symbol was supposed to be heading back to the North Pole, there was a change in plans. "We were so fired up over the reception we'd received that we decided to stay over and pay a visit to the Pines Retirement Home. We felt it would be good to bring some Christmas cheer to the folks there and I was all for it under only one condition - somebody other than Mrs. Claus would drive me."
Santa and his helpers were guests at the Pines Christmas lunch and they brought gifts from the Lions Club for the men and gifts from the Kiwanis Clubs for the ladies.
"It was incredible. I was expecting a low-key atmosphere but I tell you they were more excited than the kids. Mr. Hydes Senior was clapping his hands, practically hopping; every lady wanted to be kissed. One lady reached up and touched my beard; 'Oh Santa, give me a hug.' Another lady recited me a poem; it was a terrific moment for everybody. I wish more people could have been there to see how much Santa meant to them.
When we were leaving one lady was crying. It was really something; I enjoyed that as much as being with the kids." Before he left, Mr. Claus said he has worked out plans with the Kiwanis for next year's visit. "Next Christmas, Santa will be on a float, made to look like my sleigh, and we'll travel on that as we go 'round the island. The kids will come up on the float for their presents and everybody will be able to see Santa better. Also, it'll be safer for Santa as Mrs. Claus won't be driving.
"Also, there'll be a backup supply of candies so we won't run out.
"We'll also have Santa involved in more activities but we'll announce that later."
Just before he boarded his plane, Santa remarked: "You know, I must mention two things: "First of all, the youngsters here were terrific.
They were overjoyed but they were so well behaved and it was so every place we went. You hear so many negative things about young people, this was refreshing. "The second thing was the reaction to Santa. Without exception the joyousness it brought out was amazing; everywhere, young or old, it was the same. Even the adults who came because the kids were there - we weren't really doing anything for them but you could see them all excited; laughing and clapping; waving at Santa.
When we drove through the streets it was the same; the conviviality from both visitors and local people; everybody knew the old guy with the beard in the red suit. "It's amazing - after all these years, it seems people love Santa more than ever."
