Every day is Christmas

Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down ... Lilliwaup Lane? In September? And isn't that Mrs. Claus?

During the past 1½ years, you might have spotted in Mason County a Saint Nick look-alike in red shorts, red suspenders, bells jangling from his neck, the red stocking cap, blue eyes twinkling, the snowy beard clearly real; sometimes he's accompanied by a woman in a

candy cane apron. Other clues are the stencilings on their red car that include "Making a list and checking it twice" and "Mr. and Mrs. Claus."

Meet Ron and Sherry Highfill, who last year moved from Lacey to Timberlakes to live near their daughter. Each day is Christmas for them.

"No matter where we go, he gets stopped at least two or three times," Sherry said. She added, "We walk in Walmart and women will scream, 'Santa's here!'"

This Christmas story began 12 or 13 years ago, when a friend of the couple was too sick to portray Santa at a nursing home visit in Olympia and asked Ron to pinch-hit for him.

"I was hesitant," recalled Ron, a retired electrician. "I didn't want to disappoint them."

Ron borrowed his buddy's Santa duds for that first gig. At Value Village in Lacey, he purchased a Claus ensemble for $35, including boots.

His early gigs included posing for photos at Fred Meyer stores in Sumner and Bonney Lake. Then came his Santa Claus moment: a group of about 10 teenage girls approached him, and every one of them wanted their photo taken with him.

"This is when I'm beginning to enjoy it," Ron said. "I tell people, 'If I put a smile on a face, I've finished my day's work.' "

Ron joined Claus associations - North Pacific Santas, the International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas - and fashioned his own Kris Kringle. He's appeared at corporate parties, home visits that include autistic children who might be overwhelmed by a public event, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Festival of Trees and the Polar Express in Elbe.

Ron watches commercials and looks at ads so he's familiar with items children will be coveting.

"Older woman come up and I know what they're going to say: 'I want a new Cadillac,' " Ron said. Men typically ask for trucks or money, he added.

So what does Santa tell them? "I don't do transportation, romance or money because it gets me into trouble."

When kids say they don't have a chimney for his entry, he shows them a magic key that gets him inside all houses. When children ask him whether he is the real Santa, he replies, " 'Right now, I am who you choose to believe I am.' "

When people tell him it's too early for Christmas, he says, "I have a very long list to make." When a female tells him they're too old to believe in Santa, Ron replies, "I look into your eyes and I can see that 6-year-old girl in your soul."

"They melt," said his wife.

If a child asks for a pet, Ron tells them he'll talk to their parents. Sometimes children say their Christmas wish is for a parent to come home from prison.

"The philosophy is, 'Never lie to kids,' " Ron said.

Sherry evolved into Mrs. Claus and bought several outfits. "A lot of the time my job is to direct the lines," she said. Sometimes the kids and adults want to pose for photos only with her.

Ron said he won't be Santa Claus at a mall, because people are paying $35 for a photo from a professional - no iPhone images allowed - and a two-minute chat.

"I want to spend as much time as possible ... I want that child to leave with a positive image of Santa as possible. I have grown into the part."