Full-Time Santa Nicholas
Cardello makes it reign
Sleighed by
the Bell
Nicholas Cardello lives as what he calls a “365 Santa,” a well-sooted designation for the
professional photographer. Throughout the year, the Tampa Bay resident—who may or
may not be a native of the North Pole—possesses the spirit, love and looks of one of the
most recognized figures in the world: Ol’ Saint Nicholas himself, Santa Claus.
Cardello’s jolly journey to Santahood
began in 2016. He’d decided to grow out his
beard and started wearing glasses again after
corrective surgery eliminated the need years
prior. He and his husband were at a theme
park when they overheard children asking if
Santa was in town.
“They would look at me and then run
to their parents to ask ‘Is that him? Is it
Santa?’” Cardello laughs. “It got me thinking,
‘hey, maybe I look like Santa Claus.’ The kids
thought so and that’s a big responsibility.
If I was going to look like Santa, I thought I
should know how to act like Santa.”
He decided to enroll in Santa School in
2017, choosing the Charles W. Howard Santa
Claus School in Michigan. It celebrated its
80th year while he attended.
The nonprofit is the world’s longest
continuously running school of its type.
It was established in 1937 by Charles W.
Howard, the featured Santa in Macy’s
Thanksgiving Day Parade from 1948-1965.
He founded it “in direct response to his
displeasure with seeing other Santas in frayed
suits and cheap beards, and a shockingly
inadequate knowledge of reindeer,” the
school advises.
Today, its Claus-certifying curriculum
welcomes hundreds of students each October.
“They teach you what you need to know to
become Santa,” Cardello says. “There were
over 200 Santa Clauses there. It was a blast.”
After absorbing Santa’s detailed history,
students learn about proper dress and the
use of make-up. They also receive tips for
accounting, business and media interviews.
“It’s all of the basics,” Cardello explains.
“We’re trained how to deal with special needs
kids, kids that have autism that might not
like loud sounds or bright lights, and we learn
some sign language to communicate with
hearing impaired kids.”
They also practice Santa flight lessons,
make toys and receive singing lessons. “We
even interacted with live reindeer,” Cardello
says. “We learned all about them; everything
a kid might want to know.”
Likening it to boot camp for Santa Claus,
Cardello calls it “a really a great experience.
It gets everyone fired up for the season—
some of the Santas have been going for 20
years because it motivates them to start the
season.”
Cardello will enjoy his is third season
season
domestically this year, having been hired
to spend Thanksgiving through Christmas
2018 for his second season in China. “For
the first time in my life I could empathize
with celebrities,” he muses. “I was
mobbed for photos
everywhere I went;
there’s no putting
on sunglasses and
going incognito. Santa
sticks out.”
He was asked to
return this year but
abstained due to the
political tension between
the U.S. and China. Even by
sleigh, he says, “it makes
traveling a little difficult.”
From respecting the
diverse Christmas community
to promoting the holiday
spirit around the world,
Cardello says being Santa has
been a life changing experience.
“My husband says that ‘having
a white beard is like having a dog
or having a baby,’” he explains.
“It knocks down everyone’s defenses—
automatically, you’re approachable and
people trust you.”
Cardello adds that the most rewarding
aspect has been interacting with children.
“It’s nice to be able to engage with them. You
walk into a room full of strangers and all of
a sudden everyone has a huge smile on their
face. It really brings joy to people’s lives,” he
explains, including his.
For more information about Santa Nick or to
book him for your next ho-ho-holiday gathering,
call 727-420-0792 or visit SantaNick.com. You
can also spruce up your social media by following
him @HelloSantaNick.
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