MIDLAND, Mich. – It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. • Cliché’? Maybe, but in Midland, Michigan, the arrival of fall isn’t just about the leaves turning, it means the arrival of Santas from

around the globe to attend the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School. • Now under the direction of Tom and Holly Valent, the school has been successfully preparing Santas for the rigors of the job since 1937. This year, its 85th, marked the return of regular attendance numbers for the rst time since the pandemic began. • The school hosted nearly 300

Santas representing 40 states and three countries, including one female Santa, attending for the frst time. Melissa Rickard, known as Santa Mel from Little Rock, Arkansas, is thought to be only the second female Santa in the school’s history. She has been portraying Santa Claus for over 20 years, she says. • “At the CW Howard school here, talking about the spirit ... they have to drive that home because you have to have that heart of Santa to do this,” she said. “Anybody can just throw on a suit, but if you don’t have the heart or the spirit, you’re just a guy (or girl) in a suit.”

The curriculum is as diverse as the students and aligns with the mission of the school, which is “to uphold the traditions and preserve the history of Santa Claus while providing students with the necessary resources to improve and further dene their individual presentations of Santa

and Mrs. Claus.”There are classes on responsibility and respect for the position, toy building, sign language, technology, health, business and the opportunity to learn how to drive a sleigh. There are classes for Mrs. Clauses, too.

Michael Howe – president of the Michigan Association of Professional Santas and a class attendee for the past three years, two of them as an instructor – said: “Thinking about being a Santa is magical, here I am an flawed human, but when you put that suit on, it’s not about you anymore, it’s something greater and bigger than your-

self.”

The schedule is rigorous, students attend three full days of classes and have eld trips. However, many of the real lessons are learned during class breaks and gatherings at the hotel at the end of the day. This is where students share trade secrets and get tips on everything from which product to use on their beards to where to nd the most realistic and comfortable boots.

Ben Belhorn, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, values what he learns in those quiet moments outside of the auditorium. “One of the sayings they use is, ‘We are better together,’ and that is so true,” he said. “The school is a reason to come together, but you meet the people and talk to people and share their experiences and you be- come part of an extended family. It’s truly magical.”

They also learn from each other on how to deal with the serious questions they will inevitably encounter from the children as well. More experienced Santas counsel the newer students on how to eld questions from the “How do you deliver all of the presents in one night?” to the more heart-wrenching ones like, “Why didn’t you visit my house last year?”

While the mechanics of being Santa are well covered during the class time, the overarching theme of the heart and spirit of Santa is ever-present. The founder of the school, Charles W. Howard said: “He errs who thinks Santa enters through the chimney. Santa enters through the heart.”