Prince Among Santas : This St. Nick of 16 Years Takes His Christmastime Role Seriously

After spending half an hour getting dressed and made up, Dennis Van Vuren applies the final touch before he’s ready to step out into the Janss Mall in his Santa Claus suit: a quick spray of Obsession for Men cologne by Calvin Klein.

Smelling of spice and everything nice, Van Vuren in his red outfit attracts an awed crowd of youngsters. As he strolls to the red sleigh parked in the center of the mall next to Toys “R” Us, he croons “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” in a soft baritone.

The dozen or so children waiting to have their picture taken on his lap immediately perk up and wave. One 2-year-old makes a dash for the costumed Van Vuren and gives him a hug around the knees. Van Vuren lets out a practiced “Ho, ho, ho” while holding his belly.

In 16 years of playing Santa, Van Vuren has made a name for himself in eastern Ventura County. Trained as an actor, he takes both Christmas and his job seriously.

“There is a Santa,” Van Vuren said. “I’ve shared Christmas with thousands of kids--I am their Santa Claus.”

Working every day since Thanksgiving, he will be shaking his belly right up to Christmas Eve. He puts in eight hours a day at the mall in Thousand Oaks, then tops it off with a few more hours moonlighting at office parties and private homes. He reads Christmas stories to children, sings carols and makes jolly conversation.

The rest of the year Van Vuren works as a clown and “master animal balloon maker,” mostly at birthday parties. But Christmas is when he makes about a third of his annual income. He won’t disclose what he earns at the mall, but people pay $100 to have Van Vuren visit their home for half an hour in his Santa suit.

“I’m not rich,” said Van Vuren, who is married but has no children of his own. “But I make enough to have a house and a couple of cars and a boat I take out for bass fishing.”

And he earns it, judging by the enthusiastic parents and children who line up to take their picture next to him.

“We’d heard about him from friends,” said Mary Mesic, who had her three children photographed with Santa on Wednesday. “It really surprised me. He really was the real Santa.”

“You mean the other Santa we saw wasn’t real?” 6-year-old Dustin Mesic asked.

“No, that was Santa’s helper,” his mother answered.

Her other son, 12-year-old Jason, was embarrassed about having to pose with Santa, but Van Vuren pulled out one of his many tricks to coax cooperation from the boy.

“I just asked him, if his house was on fire and his parents had gotten all his brothers and sisters out and all the pets out, what would his mother and father want to go back and save,” Van Vuren said. “They always answer, ‘The pictures.’ So I just asked him to do something special for his parents and pose for this picture.”

It worked.

Coaxing frightened toddlers is a different matter.

“It’s tough when they’re scared,” Van Vuren said. “If they’re not forced and come up on their own, it works, but if there’s a lot of buildup and their parents try to force them, they get suspicious and shy away.”

Two-year-old Bryan Holmes wouldn’t budge from behind his mother’s legs. He started crying when she moved closer to the sleigh. When Van Vuren offered him candy, it only made things worse.

But, directed by Van Vuren, Bryan’s mother scooped the boy up and stood next to the costumed Santa. Van Vuren’s assistant held up a stuffed animal, said, “Look at the funny monkey,” and snapped the picture.

Before Bryan knew what had happened, his image was emerging on the Polaroid film.

“Sometimes you just have to shoot the picture,” Van Vuren said.