He may not be the real Santa, but he’s a really good Santa’s helper.
With his own plush red suit and a beard hand-stitched with yak wool, Russ Clayton could play Santa and fool most people. But a good Santa cares and Clayton believes deeply in the spirit of Christmas.
He said he did his first gig when he was just a teenager.
“They wanted somebody to be jolly and jovial and they saw that in me. So, I think they see Santa in my character as opposed to how I looked. It probably comes from me doing children’s entertainment for so long. Children and I always get along,” Clayton said from his large kitchen where two cats and one of his two dogs vied for his attention.
Clayton credits his love of Christmas to his mother Lorraine Clayton and aunt Beatrice Attenborough.
“I think it’s just that I had a great childhood and I remember the memories created by my Aunt Beatrice and my mom. They were totally into just doing everything for the kids. And I think I just want to pass that on to other kids who maybe haven’t had that experience, haven’t had such a good childhood,” he said.
As a kindergarten teacher at Bradford's St. Jean de Brébeuf Catholic School for many years, Clayton said he’s conscious that as teachers, they don’t always know what each child’s home situation is like.
“And some kids, just love school more than they love home because we give them a safe environment. So I think that’s what it is and the whole magic of Christmas, I just remember as a kid, it feels like a magical time," he said.
For the past six years, Clayton allows himself to be Santa Claus for a two-week stint each December. He drives from his home in Bradford to Rogers TV in Barrie each Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night to take on-air phone calls from kids and adults alike.
The show has taken off and he now receives calls from Ottawa, Collingwood and Midland and even Pennsylvania because people watch him on the internet, too.
“One time at Rogers TV, I had a person tell me that somebody had passed away, I think it might have been a grandfather or a grandmother. So I went right up to the camera and I did like a virtual hug, right in front of the lens,” he said, as tears filled his eyes.
He waited a moment and said, “So those kinds of moments are cool.”
A few weeks ago, Clayton fulfilled his duties as Santa at the Innisfil Santa Claus Parade. Pre-COVID, he would have sailed by on a gaily decorated float, but for now, Innisfil hosts a “static” parade.
For two years, Clayton has stood at the Innisfil Recreation Complex and greeted drive-by visitors through a microphone with a cherry hello, an attentive ear and warmers in his mittens.
Clayton said he lets all children know big decisions, such as asking for puppies or kittens are made with both parents' approval.
“Just so they know it’s not just me making the decision,” he said.
His wife, Charene, said she believes Clayton has a special gift he shares with children and special-needs adults alike.
“He brings you that feeling of joy inside and helps make connections with people,” she said.
