Victoria Point Santa Geoff Bowden is often referred to as the real Santa because he has a beard that looks like the real deal.
It was the beard, among other attributes, that helped get him the job at Victoria Point Shopping Centre 13 years ago.
A retired engineer, Mr Bowden worked in harsh environments but having a beard helped him protect his face.
The Lota resident applied for the centre’s Santa vacancy because they wanted a bearded Mr Claus.
My Bowden has been doing Santa gigs for kindergartens and organisations for about 30 years.
Since retiring in 1995, he has done some consultancy work and travelled with wife Marion.
For six weeks in the run up to Christmas, the 78-year-old is busy bringing smiles to children’s faces.
“It funds a bit more travel and people keep coming back to see me”, he said. “I had a mum with a baby come in for photos.
:”She said she used to sit on my knee for pictures as a teenager.”
With an estimated 5000 kids speaking to Santa at Victoria Point annually, Mr Bowden estimates he has chatted to about 50,000 kids since he started at the centre.
Among them are children in wheelchairs who can be lifted out to sit on Santa’s knee.
This year sensitive Santa sessions have provided a quiet time for children with special needs.
Among the lessons he learned from Santa School is not to promise anything.
“Some kids want a cat, dog or horse but I tell the kids the animals would make such a mess of the toy sack,” he said.
“A few of the kids don’t want a bar of you and just hang on to mum and dad.”
Mr Bowden said most of the time the experience was a happy one.
“The job is not physically demanding but it is mentally.
“My job is to make sure everyone has a happy experience.”
Photographers take about 1000 pictures a day of Santa and his helpers.
“At the end of the day I feel like I have had a hard day at it,” he said.
My Bowden said the joy on children’s faces made the job worthwhile.
He also had a knack for remembering faces.
But it is not only children who are infected by the festive spirit.
Mr Bowden said a pair of elderly women had been taking their Christmas photo with him for about five years.