Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The business of Santa

Don't tug on the beard, it's real

It's Santa, kids
It's Santa, kids

For the first time since 2003, one of Oceanside’s real bearded Santas, James Wornia, will not be working this Christmas season. Due to health reasons he’s had to cut back.

But if the real Santa held auditions for a replacement, Wornia would fit right in by birthright: he was born 25 miles from Santa Claus, Indiana, on Halloween (All Saints Eve — to include Saint Nicholas, of course). In the Navy he spent time working on San Nicolas Island, off the SoCal coast.

Wornia is a member of the national organization FORBS — the Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas. The San Diego chapter of 40 real bearded Santas meets once a month, “Except in December," says Wornia. "There’s something going on that month that keeps us kind of busy," he chuckled.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The San Diego chapter raises funds throughout the year to sponsor four to eight families at Christmastime. “We’ll tell the parents that Santa wants to take them out to lunch. While the family is at lunch, other Santas will set up a tree, decorate, and put presents out.”

For Santa James, it all started on May 1, 1991, the day after he retired from the Navy. That’s when he decided to start growing his previously restricted facial hair. He never thought about playing the jolly old fat man until he met a lady while walking into the Costco in Vista. She organized birthday parties for kids and asked if Wornia would consider coming to work for her. “She said they get short of Santas around Christmastime,” he says.

“My wife was returning from a trip on Christmas Day, and just for fun, I met her at the airport dressed as Santa. While waiting in baggage claim, I had about 100 kids and young ladies come up to me,” says Wornia.

He was hooked — especially after a Down syndrome girl asked him if he had left her presents at her house; she had just flown in from a visit with her grandmother. “When I told her yes, she started crying and just had the biggest smile.”

So, what makes a good Santa? “Never make promises,” he says. “Say something like, ‘I might have a few of those left but I’m sure you’ll really love what I leave.'”

He also says good Santas never ask what a child wants up front. “Kids are so excited to see you, they get a little tongue-tied,” says Wornia. “You start off guessing how old they are, favorite subjects in school, take the family photo, and then ask.”

Wornia, like most professional Santas, took a two-day course. “The first day they talk about what to say, what to not say. The second day they teach the business of Santa — finding work, insurance, and choosing a Santa career as a mall-photo Santa, business-and-organization Santa, or residential party Santa." Santas generally receive $100 to $125 an hour.

How often does he wear a bright red shirt? “Every day."

(corrected 12/17, 10:30 a.m)

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

When Rafael Payare met with Irwin Jacobs

The new Music Center is a heavenly hall
Next Article

Experience Hendrix, Falling Doves, Peter Sprague, Sandi King, Clikatat Ikatowi

Tributes, listening parties, and screenings in Kensington, Carlsbad, La Mesa, Little Italy, and downtown
It's Santa, kids
It's Santa, kids

For the first time since 2003, one of Oceanside’s real bearded Santas, James Wornia, will not be working this Christmas season. Due to health reasons he’s had to cut back.

But if the real Santa held auditions for a replacement, Wornia would fit right in by birthright: he was born 25 miles from Santa Claus, Indiana, on Halloween (All Saints Eve — to include Saint Nicholas, of course). In the Navy he spent time working on San Nicolas Island, off the SoCal coast.

Wornia is a member of the national organization FORBS — the Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas. The San Diego chapter of 40 real bearded Santas meets once a month, “Except in December," says Wornia. "There’s something going on that month that keeps us kind of busy," he chuckled.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The San Diego chapter raises funds throughout the year to sponsor four to eight families at Christmastime. “We’ll tell the parents that Santa wants to take them out to lunch. While the family is at lunch, other Santas will set up a tree, decorate, and put presents out.”

For Santa James, it all started on May 1, 1991, the day after he retired from the Navy. That’s when he decided to start growing his previously restricted facial hair. He never thought about playing the jolly old fat man until he met a lady while walking into the Costco in Vista. She organized birthday parties for kids and asked if Wornia would consider coming to work for her. “She said they get short of Santas around Christmastime,” he says.

“My wife was returning from a trip on Christmas Day, and just for fun, I met her at the airport dressed as Santa. While waiting in baggage claim, I had about 100 kids and young ladies come up to me,” says Wornia.

He was hooked — especially after a Down syndrome girl asked him if he had left her presents at her house; she had just flown in from a visit with her grandmother. “When I told her yes, she started crying and just had the biggest smile.”

So, what makes a good Santa? “Never make promises,” he says. “Say something like, ‘I might have a few of those left but I’m sure you’ll really love what I leave.'”

He also says good Santas never ask what a child wants up front. “Kids are so excited to see you, they get a little tongue-tied,” says Wornia. “You start off guessing how old they are, favorite subjects in school, take the family photo, and then ask.”

Wornia, like most professional Santas, took a two-day course. “The first day they talk about what to say, what to not say. The second day they teach the business of Santa — finding work, insurance, and choosing a Santa career as a mall-photo Santa, business-and-organization Santa, or residential party Santa." Santas generally receive $100 to $125 an hour.

How often does he wear a bright red shirt? “Every day."

(corrected 12/17, 10:30 a.m)

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Big bugs early in the season – Wahoo bonanza off Mag Bay

Bluefin at the Coronados
Next Article

Lost Abbey finds a new way

Best drinking in San Diego
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader