Attention parents: In case there are any young newspaper readers in the room, this conversation contains the true identity of Phipps Plaza’s Santa Claus.
The job is not for everyone, not even for every Santa. There’s the crack-of-dawn, hour-long curl and comb at the beauty shop. The constant mints and throat spray to keep the voice box lubed. Don’t even mention the kids — sleigh loads of them, many bawling their eyes out.
But 68-year-old Johnny Hammond, expected to visit with 16,000 kids this holiday season, considers himself the most blessed Santa Claus on Earth. Since 2006, the unassuming retired telephone technician from Covington has assumed the persona of the highest-profile (and rumored to be the highest-paid) Santa in the metro area. Hammond took over for his role model, the late James Ray Bryan, or Santa Ray, who held the job for 23 years.
We recently caught up with 6-foot-2, 250-pound, twinkling blue-eyed Hammond en route to Phipps Plaza. He was, fittingly, in a jolly mood, and spoke to us about flu shots, Atlanta traffic, and the meaning of Christmas.
Q: You play an icon. You took over for one. How do you handle the pressure?
A: You try to be yourself as much as you can. You try to be gentle with the little children as you can. Some of them are delicate.
Q: Do you still get butterflies?
A: Always the first of the season. You get to see all the children again. You just want everything to go well for everybody.
Q: Your work is pretty grueling work, right?
A: It is. I leave home around 7 in the morning and get home around 10 at night. The downside would be trying to unwind and go to sleep so I can greet the children the next day. It is a long trip with the traffic. The reindeer aren’t running right now because there is no snow.
Q: What was your first Santa gig?
A: It actually started in my church back around 1995. The Santa we had couldn’t come back. I had a little girth. I had a beard but it was darker, of course. Here I am.
Q: Who was your Santa role model?
A: It would have to be Ray. I always called him the big kahuna of Santas. The image he projected was so real.
Q: Can you share with all of those Santas out there — both professional and the everyday dads — a few tricks of the trade?
A: When the little kids come up crying and carrying on I try to pick out an object on them, like the shoes, and tell them how pretty their shoes are. Maybe they have a bow in their hair. Then I just try to ease them from their mother’s or daddy’s arms — and hope.
Q: What do you tell kids when they want to know if you are real?
A: I just tell them, I leave that up to you. If you think Santa’s real, then we’re real. I always use the third person. If you promise them something yourself, then when they see you again, they are going to be disappointed.
Q: There’s no backup for the Phipps job. How do you get in shape and stay healthy with all those germy kids sitting on your lap?
A: I take vitamins all during the season. After the season, I try to see doctors and keep myself checked up. I believe in the flu shot.
Q: Do you trim down in the off-season?
A: Not really.
Q: Do you trim your beard or cut your hair?
A: I just go around with the same look. Kids always come and say, What’s your name? I say, Santa is just on a vacation trip down here in Georgia where is it warm, and wearing shorts. I love to wear shorts.
Q: What do most kids ask for?
A: They want the DSi. The iPod. The iPad. The cell phone. Quite a few of them want laptops, too. It is an electronic Christmastime now.
Q: Do you get any meaningful requests?
A: A lot of them. Some children don’t want something for themselves. They want something for mother and daddy. Or they’ll say, we just want children who are less fortunate to have a good Christmas. They project the true meaning of Christmas.
Q: So Santa — have you been naughty or nice?
A: I’ve been pretty good overall. My wife doesn’t think so, but I do.
Q: What do you want for Christmas?
A: I want everyone to have good family times and come together to share the true meaning of Christmas.
The Sunday conversation is edited for length and clarity. Writer Ann Hardie can be reached by e-mail at ann.hardie@ymail.com.
