In the Nisqually Valley region, the magic of Santa Claus is real.
Just ask Harry Miller, a longtime Yelm resident and Santa to many youngsters within the area over the past few years. Though he dons the warm red suit and hat in the winter time, the magic behind serving as Santa Claus in local communities is a 365-day job, and that’s a task that Miller is undoubtedly up for.
During an interview with the Nisqually Valley News on Friday, Dec. 5, just half an hour before he met with a sea of local children for photos with Santa inside of the Yelm Community Center, Miller handed out photos of himself, as Santa Claus, with the caption, “Merry Christmas! Happy Birthday, Jesus!”
For Miller, that simple message conveys exactly what Christmas means to him.
“Happy birthday, Jesus. Ultimately, we are here because of the best gift we ever got from our Father. It’s our ability to get rid of all of the weights that we attach to ourselves. It’s called salvation, and I’m pretty big on that. I’m pretty big on forgiveness too,” Miller said. “I think our culture would be in so much better shape if we allowed that to be front and center, to where we could love each other without all of the hate.”
Miller said he’s in his sixth year of serving as Santa Claus in the Nisqually Valley region and said that he began making instant connections with children in his first year as Jolly Old Saint Nick. He lets his creativity shine in each connection with a child and noted that the kids are always “so welcoming” to any stories you want to tell about the North Pole, elves or Mrs. Claus.
“I am Santa, basically, 365-days a year,” Miller said. “It’s one of those things people say, ‘well you play Santa.’ No I don’t. You have to be Santa. If you can’t be Santa, you don’t get one of these suits. I try to make connections with kids all year round.”
He also made it clear that he isn’t your typical shopping mall Santa Claus because he takes the time to make a unique connection with each individual child he makes. Whether it’s learning about the types of toys they want for Christmas, or answering a deeper question about the North Pole or being Santa, he’s always thrilled to make a new connection.
“The Santa thing just comes naturally to me. It’s an expression of that awesome love, and these kids are so open to anything I bring to them. I don’t have to convince them to believe in Santa. It doesn’t take too much work,” Miller said. “I had a four year old last year at the theater sit on my lap, and I asked what do you want for Christmas? A little four year old said, ‘I just want to know, Santa, why are there so many Santas?’ I said, ‘that’s a really good question, and I’ll tell you what. We need more Santas on every street corner. When people are sad, angry, broken and can’t celebrate, we need Santa everywhere to remind us to be the best that we can be.’ I mean I get to touch the lives of kids and listen to them. You can’t beat it.”
Additionally, Miller believes becoming Santa Claus provides him with an opportunity to reach children and provide them with an expression of hope. His warm red suit is not just a piece of clothing that he wears on the outside, but serving as Kris Kringle is a role he also wears internally.
“I have a love affair with Yelm and Rainier because they’re such giving communities and you don’t have to dig very deep. Somebody is always willing to step up to bring resources to a need. I love this place — warts and all,” Miller said. “The kids are worth it. I’m sorry that we, as a community, can’t find a way to support our kids better. I think maybe this is a process that everybody needs to go through to find what’s really important and it needs to go back to the kids. These are tough times. There’s a lot of stuff that goes on in families. There’s a lot of brokenness inside of families.”
