A flock of Father Christmases share the seasonal songs that capture the magic, merriment and occasional heartbreak that comes with donning the red suit
My father was a Santa and my wife got me into doing it. It’s the best thing I ever did. I do schools, universities, supermarkets, Christmas lights switch-ons … As soon as Santa comes along, everybody melts. One little girl brought her guinea pig, who leapt off her hand and dived straight into my Santa beard. The parents were in stitches while we tried to get him out. My favourite Christmas songs are Eartha Kitt’s sultry version of Santa Baby, because it gets all the adults in the mood to get up and have a boogie with Santa, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, because the lyrics are so pure. No Christmas songs drive me mad. It’s Christmas: they’re all great. Paul Fessi
I know I look the part. I wear the green Santa outfit from before Coca-Cola turned him red and white to match their branding, but if I just put a Christmas hat on, people shout “Oi Santa!” at me. Someone said I look more like a fat elf, which is fair enough. I’ve had lots of funny incidents. I once felt a tug on my beard, looked down and there was a two-year-old dangling from it. I do Santa for the domestic abuse charity IDAS, distributing donated presents to child survivors. My favourite song is obvious: Do They Know It’s Christmas?, because Band Aid drew attention to global inequality. The song that drives me nuts is [Spike Jones’s 1948 hit] All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth. It’s just so cheesy. Really irritating! Arnold Warneken AKA Green Santa
