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| 2 | %%Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16734751560.11429400 |
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| 5 | [[quoteright:350:[[Series/That70sShow https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/santa_that_70s_show_2.png]]]] |
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| 7 | ->''"If you're Santa Claus, why are there so many Santa Clauses at other malls?"'' |
| 8 | -->-- '''Michelle Davies''', ''Series/FamilyTies'', [[Recap/FamilyTiesS6E17MiracleInColumbus "Miracle in Columbus]]" |
| 9 | |
| 10 | Or, as English Majors know them: Subordinate Clauses. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Usually occurring during the Christmas-themed episode, a male character gets a job at TheMall (or a department store in older works) as SantaClaus, either for a part-time job or as a last-minute substitute. HilarityEnsues. We invariably see a series of kids on his lap doing things like questioning his authenticity as the "real" SantaClaus, attempting to pull off his beard, [[LudicrousGiftRequest asking for extravagant or impossible gifts]], or, in the most crass of {{Sit Com}}s, [[BringMyBrownPants urinating on him out of fear]] (more refined sitcoms might have the kid simply cry out of fear). A common joke has the Mall Santa promising to deliver an outrageous gift come Christmas, much to the dismay of the kid's parents. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | If the character playing the Mall Santa is a cynical JadedWashout[=/=]DeadpanSnarker type, he may comment on the materialistic behavior of the kids or the commercialism of Christmas. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Added points if the Mall Santa is drunk. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | The female equivalent is being stuck in a SexySantaDress and/or hideous [[ChristmasElves "helper elf"]] outfit. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | In more outlandish shows with SpeculativeFiction or MundaneFantastic premises, the character may be [[SavingChristmas the real deal]] [[RealAfterAll after all]], or maybe he ''could'' be the real deal but [[SantaAmbiguity the jury is out]]. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Occasionally one encounters a ''Jewish'' mall Santa. |
| 23 | ---- |
| 24 | !!Examples: |
| 25 | |
| 26 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 27 | |
| 28 | [[folder:Advertising]] |
| 29 | * The Capital One ad with the inversion of the beard pull trope-the kid on Santa's lap is the kid who's one of the Vikings in the commercial. He has a beard, despite the fact he's too young to, and Santa pulls it, which makes the kid say 'ouch'. |
| 30 | * A commercial for Cingular Wireless which is a parody of ''Film/AChristmasStory'' has a reference to the Santa scene in that film where the boy in pursuit of a cell phone sees him at the store and gets the boot when he says "You'll run the bill up!" |
| 31 | [[/folder]] |
| 32 | |
| 33 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 34 | * ''[[ComicBook/ArchieComics Archie]]'' comics have used this plot in many a Christmas themed storyline. |
| 35 | ** Archie gets this job himself a lot. One year he tried to use it to get present intel from Betty and Veronica, but the girls saw through it and tricked him instead. Another year he learned the TrueMeaningOfChristmas from some special children he met on the job. |
| 36 | ** A one-shot Li'l Jinx featured the titular character pestering a mall santa about a letter she got. |
| 37 | ** One Betty and Veronica double digest cover, in which a ''teenaged'' Betty is bothering a mall Santa. |
| 38 | ** Yet another story featured Betty and Veronica as [[SweetPollyOliver Mall Santas]]. This isn't counting the times they've just worn a SexySantaDress. |
| 39 | * ''ComicStrip/{{Crabgrass}}'': In a december 2021 storyline, Miles is revealed to [[StillBelievesInSanta still believe in Santa]], and convinces Kevin to believe again so they can get a video game they want. To ensure Santa knows Kevin is a believer, Kevin gets his mom to bring him and Miles to visit the santa at the mall. However, Kevin immediatly makes it clear to the guy that he knows he's not the real Santa, and [[https://www.gocomics.com/crabgrass/2021/12/13 even rips his beard off]] to prove it. |
| 40 | * Mr. Wilson from ''ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUS'' has been a Mall Santa [[https://live.staticflickr.com/4585/23964297677_43b50014bf_b.jpg at least once]]. Much to his annoyance, Dennis and his friends have come to see him. |
| 41 | * ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'': In issue #378 (by Creator/PeterDavid), Rhino (a supervillain) becomes a Mall Santa. He gives this advice to kids: "Give! Give! Give! You want everything handed to you! Why not do what I do? Take stuff! See it? Want it? Take it!" |
| 42 | * ''ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica'': Ma Hunkel, the original ComicBook/RedTornado, spent time each Christmas as a mall Santa. A group of crooks make the mistake of attempting to rob her mall on the Christmas Eve the JSA turn up to recruit her as their housekeeper. |
| 43 | * ''ComicBook/SantaVsZombies'': The main kids are brought to a mall, and the boy rips the Mall Santa's fake beard off. |
| 44 | [[/folder]] |
| 45 | |
| 46 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 47 | * In ''Fanfic/TwentyFiveDaysOfCuremas'', [[Anime/HugttoPrettyCure Shintarou Nono]] sets up a Santa display for Christmas at his department store, and his daughter Hana and her friends bring their baby mascot Hugtan to see him. |
| 48 | * In one ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'' fanfiction, Artemis's mother takes a five-year old Artemis Christmas shopping and makes take a picture with one. Artemis bluntly tells the Santa that he knows the man is a fake. The Mall Santa rolls with it, telling Artemis of the Santa Conspiracy. |
| 49 | -->'''Santa''': Tell you what kid, it's true. I'm not the real Santa, you think only one man can run this operation? Santa sends his agents out to find out what the kids act and if they're really being naughty or nice. |
| 50 | -->'''Artemis''' (quietly amazed): So how does he deliver those presents? |
| 51 | -->'''Santa''': You think one man could deliver all those presents in one night by ''himself?'' |
| 52 | -->'''Artemis''': So he doesn't work alone? |
| 53 | -->'''Santa''': Nope, he sends his agents to deliver presents all around the world and no one knows the difference. |
| 54 | ** Artemis then resolves to uncover Santa's operations. |
| 55 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' fanfiction ''Fanfic/LincolnsMemories'': In "'Tis the Season to Be Loud", the kids go to sit on the lap of a guy in Santa gear at the mall. |
| 56 | * ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4755435/1/Metal_Gear_Santa Metal Gear Santa]]'' featured Old Snake dressed up as Santa Claus and Sunny and Otacon dressed up as elves. |
| 57 | * ''Fanfic/TimeFixersNicktoonsOfTheFuture'' features Danny Fenton playing a mall Santa, which is he explains is a way for him to afford presents for his children. |
| 58 | * [[Fanfic/UltimateSpiderWoman Mary Jane Watson]] gets a job as one of Santa's helpers in the Christmas display at Macy's Department Store. She feels more than a little silly in her ChristmasElves outfit, but she turns out to actually be pretty good at the job. |
| 59 | ** The next year, Mary Jane plays the main role herself when the men who play Santa aren't available. She dresses up as MrsClaus and invites the kids to sit on her lap, explaining that Santa had a bad cold and he didn't want anyone to get sick, so she's filling in for him. |
| 60 | [[/folder]] |
| 61 | |
| 62 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 63 | * Discussed in ''WesternAnimation/ThePolarExpress'' where the ticket conductor notes that the boy didn't get his photo taken with a department store Santa. |
| 64 | [[/folder]] |
| 65 | |
| 66 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 67 | * The one in ''Film/AllIWantForChristmas'' is visited twice, due to Hallie thinking her first wish was [[ExactWords phrased wrong]]. |
| 68 | * ''Film/BadSanta'' featured a thief working as a Mall Santa in order to rob the stores. |
| 69 | * In ''Film/AChristmasStory'', Ralphie goes to the Department Store to ask Santa for his Red Ryder BB Gun. This Santa is a particularly nasty, arrogant, and impatient one as are his two elves. He becomes just the latest character to mention to Ralphie that "You'll shoot your eye out!" right before he boots him down the slide. |
| 70 | * In the first ''Film/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'' movie, Rowley is seen on a mall Santa's lap, asking for a puppy, a cat, and a gumball machine. |
| 71 | * ''Film/{{Elf}}'': Buddy, who knows the real Santa, is incensed when an impostor shows up at the department store he works in. He accuses the fake of smelling "like beef and cheese!" and gets into a fistfight with him. After that, the store gets a different Santa- who is ''black''. |
| 72 | ** It's funnier than that: the black Mall Santa is the manager of the toy department and Buddy's former boss, implying like hell they had no time to find a replacement. |
| 73 | * ''Film/FastTimesAtRidgemontHigh'' has in its brief mention of Christmas a Mall Santa dealing with a wet lap from a child peeing in his pants. |
| 74 | * In ''Film/FredClaus'' Fred gets harassed by several mall Santas for working on the street with no permit. They give chase of him through the streets and into a shopping mall where Fred eventually takes them out with toys. |
| 75 | * In ''Film/HomeAlone1'', Kevin runs to find a Santa in time on Christmas Eve. He finds one getting into his car after quitting time. He quickly puts his beard back on and does his best Jolly Old St. Nick, but Kevin tells him not to bother. He already knows he's not the real Santa, but he knows he does work for him. The Santa [[SureLetsGoWithThat just goes with it]]. Kevin then asks him to relay the message that he wants his family back. |
| 76 | * ''Film/HotFuzz'' features a scene of Creator/PeterJackson as Father Christmas stabbing Creator/SimonPegg in the hand. |
| 77 | * Look ''[[Film/LookWhosTalking Who's Talking Now]]'' features Kirstie Alley's character having to work as a department store Santa's Elf. A kid asks her if she's an elf, and she replies that she's [[ActorAllusion actually a]] [[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan Vulcan]]. |
| 78 | * Both versions of ''Film/MiracleOnThirtyFourthStreet'' supposedly use the real Santa, Kris Kringle, as a department store Santa. In the original, it's Macy's; in the remake, it's [[BrandX Cole's]]. He's replacing a terrible, drunken Mall Santa, so bonus points there. |
| 79 | * The European horror/comedy short subjects and the later film ''Film/RareExportsAChristmasTale'' purport to tell the true story of where the red-suited entities seen in stores at Christmas actually come from. [[spoiler:They're actually centuries-old cryptozoological wild men, captured and trained until they can be trusted to hold children on their laps without ripping them apart. That is, unless someone is foolish enough to do one of the things that enrages them... ]] It's revealed in TheMovie [[spoiler:that these "Santas" are in fact just Santa's little elves. The ''real'' Santa is [[EldritchAbomination much, much worse]]. And most definitely Mall Santa material.]] |
| 80 | * In ''Film/TheSantaClause'', Scott Calvin assumes that the guy who fell off his roof while dressed like Santa just needs a ride back to the mall. He has no idea... |
| 81 | ** In addition, while looking for Scott after he "abducted" Charlie, the police arrest about a dozen Santas. |
| 82 | * ''Film/SantaWho'' has a scenario where Santa falls from his sleigh and gets amnesia, and during the course of the movie, he ends up as a mall Santa for awhile. |
| 83 | * In ''Film/Shazam2019'', there's a recurring extra of a Mall Santa who keeps getting caught in the middle of the fights between Shazam and Dr. Sivana. In the aftermath of the final battle, he ends up hijacking a news report and letting out a ClusterBleepBomb. |
| 84 | * The crime film ''Film/TheSilentPartner'' involves a mall Santa who turns out to be a bank robber...and then gets caught up in dueling gambits with a teller at the bank who wants to keep the loot for himself. |
| 85 | * The 1942 film ''Film/LifeBeginsAtEightThirty'' begins with the main character, a washed-up alcoholic actor, losing his job as a department store Santa after showing up to work drunk on Christmas Eve. |
| 86 | [[/folder]] |
| 87 | |
| 88 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 89 | * ''Literature/TheCatWhoSeries'': In book #15 (''The Cat Who Went Into the Closet''), Qwilleran is drafted into being the Santa Claus of the small town of Pickax. He takes things fairly well, but panics when he learns that he's not done because he's still required to do lap-sitting. |
| 90 | -->'''Qwilleran''': M-er-r-y Christmas! [[IsThisThingStillOn Get me outta here! How do I get down? I'm not going back down that stupid ladder!]] |
| 91 | * ''Literature/TheDaySantaStoppedBelievingInHarold'': Santa ''himself'' apparently worked at a mall the previous year, where he was surprised that Harold had had a growth spurt that drastically changed his appearance. |
| 92 | * In the ''Literature/DillyTheDinosaur'' story "Dilly and the Book of Bad Behaviour", Dilly is paranoid about getting into Dino Claus (the dinosaur version of Santa)'s Book of Bad Behaviour, so they go to a mall Santa and have him explicitly tell Dilly that he's not going to be put in the book. |
| 93 | * ''Literature/DirtyBertie'': In the story "Elf!", Bertie's dad has to be a mall Santa while Bertie has to be a helper elf. He finds the job boring and wants to be a goblin instead. |
| 94 | * In one of Harlequin's [[RomanceNovel Romance Novels]], the pairing are a pair of divorcees - the woman is manager at the store, which is an OldEstablishedBusiness with an [[TheRival equally old, established rival]] (the competition between the two is even referenced as being akin to that between Bloomingdale's and Macy's) while the man is (at first appearances) a guy who's one bounced check from being homeless and focused on getting revenge on his RichBitch of an ex (who also faked evidence to make him appear to be a {{Domestic Abuse}}r, effectively conning the judge into giving her full custody of their daughter). The guy is desperate for a job, but wants something seasonal - and she's desperate for a Mall Santa since the one they usually hire is getting on in years. The manager is also frequently roped into babysitting the store owner's grandson - who is also the unofficial vetter for the Mall Santas that are hired. The kid is mentioned as still believing in Santa, but justifies Mall Santas as being like heralds for the real deal - which also neatly explains, to him, why not all Mall Santas are equal: some have the calling and some are just in it for the money. |
| 95 | * In ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}'', [[TheGrimReaper Death]] (who's ''already'' standing in for the real deal), attempts to replace the Hogfather at an expensive department store. Since he already has the Hogfather's sack, he horrifies the store owner by giving away wonderful presents, thereby heavily eating into the profits. Not to mention Death's failure to perceive certain human conventions regarding appropriate gifts for children. Such as the full-size, completely real ''broadsword'' he hands to a little girl, before being hastily convinced that a fully functional weapon might not be the best idea (he just turned the blade to wood). Or a girl wants a real life pony to be in her home... in a second floor apartment. Overall, he gives children toys that they actually want, rather than what their parents consider appropriate for them. Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes not. |
| 96 | * In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[Literature/ProsperosDaughter Prospero Lost]]'', feeling the barghests, Miranda asks for direction, and is sent to the mall. Where they find that the Mall Santa is actually Father Christmas, who can deal easily with a pack of {{Hell Hound}}s/{{Living Shadow}}s. |
| 97 | * In Nathan Englander's humourous short story ''Reb Kringle'', Itzik, a devoutly Orthodox Jew, reluctantly takes this job because he and his wife need the money and he already has the requisite long white beard and big belly. Itzik takes in stride the typical annoyances of overly-greedy requests and attempts to remove his beard, but loses it when the child of an interfaith couple admits he'd rather celebrate Hanukkah. |
| 98 | [[/folder]] |
| 99 | |
| 100 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 101 | * ''Series/TwoBrokeGirls'': The two girls get jobs as Santa's Helpers during Christmas in order to make a few extra bucks. |
| 102 | * ''Series/AccordingToJim.'' Jim gets into a minor car accident at Christmas time. The other guy gives him fake information. Later, Jim recognizes him as the mall Santa. HilarityEnsues. |
| 103 | * ''Series/ANTFarm'': Darryl takes a job as Mall Santa to spy on Roxanne and figure out what she got him for Christmas so he can know what to get her, as well as appointing Cameron as his elf. They both end up fired when their cover is blown, and the manager later hires Lexi as the new Santa and Paisely as the elf. While Paisely seems to enjoy the job, Lexi finds her Santa costume to be her worst nightmare. |
| 104 | * On ''Series/AreYouBeingServed'', an episode dealt with the store employees' competition to ''be'' the Mall Santa. |
| 105 | * On ''Series/{{Best Friends Whenever}}'', Naldo goes to his new job in the mall as Santa only to be kidnapped and interrogated by Bret and Chet who crazily believe that Santa is up to something not recognizing that it's Naldo. Barry ends up filling in for him when he goes to bring Naldo the gifts he forgot to deliver and the children mistake Barry for Santa. |
| 106 | * ''Series/BostonLegal'' had an episode in the first season where Alan Shore represents a mall Santa who's a WholesomeCrossdresser (not at work) in a court action to keep him from being fired because of it. This ends with Al Sharpton being coming into the courtroom and having no clue what he's doing, and saying "So give the world a black Santa Clause!" |
| 107 | * ''Series/TheBradyBunch'' had a rare aversion of the trope, a kind man who was very patient with the children, even one who asked for a huge list of things and clearly had Santa bewildered. The problem was when Cindy came to him with a selfless but impossible wish he didn't have it in him to tell her it might not happen. (Thankfully, this being the Brady-verse, it did.) |
| 108 | * ''Series/DashAndLily'': Lily's "Uncle Sal", a good friend of her grandfather's, works as a Santa at Macy's. He plays a role in one dare. |
| 109 | * In the ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'' Christmas [[TheMovie movie]], Drake plays Santa, while his brother Josh plays Santa's sack (of toys). Drake ends up making a promise to a little girl that the two of them spend the rest of the movie keeping. |
| 110 | * ''Series/EverybodyHatesChris'', Julius plays Santa at the mall for extra money. When the children tell him what they want for Christmas, he makes them cry merely by honestly telling them how expensive the toys/gifts are, how long their parents will have to work for it, and how they might not get what they want. |
| 111 | * ''Series/TheFlash2014'': The season 2 ChristmasEpisode "Running to Stand Still" has a dark twist on this trope when The Trickster dresses up as a Mall Santa so he can give the children visiting him a present with a bomb, which he then threatens to detonate if Flash doesn't allow Weather Wizard to beat him in a fight. |
| 112 | * ''Series/{{Frasier}}'': |
| 113 | ** In season 5 Frasier does a stint as Santa for a charity with Roz as his Mrs. Claus. Right before their shift starts Frasier reveals that he accidentally told Roz's mother that she was pregnant, something Roz had been waiting to reveal in person when her mother visited. Roz blows up at him and storms off wailing about how the holiday has been ruined. Frasier is left to explain to the kids why "Mrs. Claus" is so upset. |
| 114 | ** In a later season Roz volunteers as an elf and develops a crush on the Santa Claus she's paired with. At first she assumes she's attracted to [[Creator/DeanCain the guy]] ''playing'' Santa but when she runs into him at Cafe Nervosa she's put off by the lack of beard and his weedy laugh. Daphne realises that Roz was actually attracted to the Santa persona and immediately starts teasing her about it. |
| 115 | * Joey gets a job as Santa's Elf in a season one episode of ''Series/{{Friends}}''. Apparently he was actually Santa Claus the year before, but this year he lost out to the guy who's sleeping with the store manager. A later season gets Chandler dressed as the man himself (and Monica asks if he can keep the suit for later that night). |
| 116 | * The cast of ''Series/{{Glee}}'' encounter a rather JerkAss mall Santa, who promises dim Brittany that he will cure Artie's paralysis. |
| 117 | ** In Season 4, Santana, Kurt and Rachel work as Santa's Helpers. They bring home the mall Santa who proceeds to rob them. |
| 118 | * In a ChristmasEpisode of ''Series/GoodLuckCharlie'', Teddy tries to have Charlie take her picture with a Santa in Super Adventure Land. However, when Santa leaves for his break when it's Charlie's turn, Teddy attacks him with a snowman head as a bowling ball and is arrested leading to a court. |
| 119 | ** And in the crossover with ''Series/{{Jessie}}'', Bob takes Charlie to a mall Santa. |
| 120 | * In the ChristmasEpisode of ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'', Charlie realizes that when he was a child, everyone who came to his house dressed as Santa on Christmas had sex with his mom. A Mall Santa happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. |
| 121 | -->'''Charlie:''' Did you fuck my mom, Santa Claus? |
| 122 | * In the first ChristmasEpisode of ''Series/{{Jessie}}'', Ravi's petrified of Santa Claus after being told about him from Zuri and freaks out when he sees a Santa in the mall. |
| 123 | * ''Series/KenanAndKel'' had Kenan playing the Mall Santa (after the previous one was knocked out by a SpoiledBrat) to earn the last bit of money he needs to buy a mountain bike he'd been saving up for. However, after getting his money he decides use it to buy gifts for two of the kids he met whose mother couldn't afford to buy them herself. The real Santa rewards Kenan for his generosity by delivering the bike under his family's tree. |
| 124 | * ''Series/{{Leverage}}'': A mall Santa comes to the team for help because he was fired and the new mall Santas all seem to be criminals. Elliot ends up playing Santa for a while and is terrible at it, but Parker seems to enjoy her role as a ChristmasElf. |
| 125 | * In an early ''Series/MadTV1995'' ChristmasEpisode, Creator/NicoleSullivan's Vancome Lady character serves as a gatekeeper to one of these. She turns away one kid for being fat, another for being homeless (she isn't), and another for being Jewish, all with her trademark phrase "Tcha, you know what? Uh uh!" She is, of course, fired, but as a parting shot reveals a bit of the mall Santa's indiscretions with her and then tears off his fake beard. |
| 126 | -->'''Vancome Lady''': There is no Santa! Oh, Merry Christmas! |
| 127 | * Thelma Harper takes on the job in the ''Series/MamasFamily'' episode "Santa Mama", to fill in for her son Vinton, who lost his voice practicing his "Ho Ho Ho". |
| 128 | * ''Series/MarriedWithChildren.'' |
| 129 | ** Considering that many of the kids' parents were neighbors Al didn't like, he told one kid to tell daddy to stay home when the mailman comes over. He tells a girl who wants a pony that he'll leave one under the tree, but if it's not there by morning, her mother chased it away and killed it... |
| 130 | *** Al dressed as Santa becuase earlier in the episode a new mall was doing a promotion in which a guy dressed as Santa would parachute down into the mall parking lot... only for the Santa to end up slam dunking in the Bundy's back yard. Al dressing up was to get the kids to go away so medical personal could haul away what was left of the "Splattered Santa." |
| 131 | ** Al got a job as a Mall Santa in two other episodes -- one on season seven and again near the end of the series' run after two young men replace Al and Griff at the shoe store. |
| 132 | * ''Series/{{Monk}}'', in the episode "Mr. Monk and the Secret Santa": Monk and Natalie go undercover at a shopping mall trying to locate the person Stottlemeyer suspects tried to kill him. To do so, this involves Monk being disguised as a Mall Santa, with Natalie wearing a wig to pose as his elf. Although the humor revolved around Monk's obsessive compulsive disorder and having to be up close to children. |
| 133 | * In ''Merry Christmas Series/MrBean'' we see Mr. Bean has a habit of annoying mall Santas by pulling their beard off. One of them unfortunately has a real beard... |
| 134 | * ''Series/MurphyBrown'': Murphy uses her IntrepidReporter skills to find the absolute '''best''' Mall Santa in the DC area for her son's first Christmas photo. Then when she gets there, it's his day off. |
| 135 | * In the first ChristmasEpisode of ''Series/MyTwoDads'', both Judge Margaret and the coffee shop owner take turns playing Santa. He gives all the kids footballs (being an ex-player himself), and she gives all of them books. |
| 136 | * In the ''Series/NaturallySadie'' episode "A Very Sadie Christmas", Hal gets a job as a mall Santa and uses it as an opportunity to scam free stuff, demanding bribes from kids in exchange for promising to grant their Christmas wishes. |
| 137 | * ''Series/NipTuck'', where a drunken Sean dons the Santa outfit. |
| 138 | * ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'' convinces her boss to let her play Santa ''herself'', and the kids fall for it even though she doesn't remotely sound like a man. Jackie plays Mrs. Claus...as a drill sergeant photographer. |
| 139 | * In the ChristmasEpisode of ''Series/RoundTheTwist'', CoolOldLady Nell becomes a Mall Santa. It leads to her being attacked by the ''real'' Santa. |
| 140 | * ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' |
| 141 | ** An early fake commercial for "Santi-Wrap", a plastic sheet similar to disposable toilet seat covers, featured John Belushi as a slovenly, drunken mall Santa, thereby illustrating why such a product is necessary. |
| 142 | ** A later ''SNL'' featured Master Thespian taking the job of mall Santa, seemingly without doing the research and winging it - even working in a hammy death scene. |
| 143 | ** Then there was the Sally Field/Tony, Toni, Tone episode where Chris Farley's motivational speaker character Matt Foley plays a Mall Santa. |
| 144 | * Kramer in ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}''. |
| 145 | * On ''Series/ShakeItUp'', [=CeCe=] gets a job in the mall as Santa's Helper after wasting the money for her mother's Christmas present. |
| 146 | * The ''Series/{{Sliders}}'' Christmas episode, "Season's Greedings" had Arturo become a mall Santa with Wade and Rembrandt as his elves. |
| 147 | * ''Series/SoulMan'' featured a mall Santa, also. With Rev. Weber's son having a technicolour yawn all over Santa's beard on both years he went to see him. |
| 148 | * There was an episode of ''Series/That70sShow'' where Red worked as a Mall Santa: |
| 149 | -->'''Little Girl''': "I want a pony!" |
| 150 | -->'''Red''': "Ponies die." |
| 151 | * Harry from ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'' was a helper for a mall Santa, and mentioned that children over 16 years of age should not sit on Santa's lap. He was also horrified when he saw the mall Santa remove his costume, as Harry had believed he was really Santa. |
| 152 | * ''Series/ThirdWatch'''s Season 5 episode "The Spirit" had grumpy policeman Sully playing Santa at a toy store. |
| 153 | * A ChristmasEpisode of ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'', "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S2E11TheNightOfTheMeek The Night of the Meek]]", stars Art Carney as an alcoholic department store Santa who despairs over not being able to help the poor people in his slum neighborhood -- [[spoiler:but in the spirit of the show, he finds a sack that magically produces presents on demand... then at shows' end he gets his own wish and becomes Santa for real]]. This episode also showed up in the [[Series/TheTwilightZone1985 1985 revival series]], with [[Series/{{Soap}} Richard Mulligan]] in Art Carney's role and [[Film/Ghostbusters1984 William Atherton]] as the department store boss. |
| 154 | * The holiday episode of ''Series/WelcomeFreshmen'' has Walter going to visit a mall Santa (despite being in high school). When Santa gets Walter to confess to a few transgressions, he realizes that "Santa" is actually his father doing a little moonlighting. |
| 155 | -->'''Walter:''' Gee... Santa did seem a little fatter this year. |
| 156 | * ''Series/WithoutATrace'': The victim in one episode was a mall Santa. He'd had a confrontation with a slutty woman with a thing for Santas and a brawl with the mall's previous Santa (which the woman found very sexy). |
| 157 | * ''Series/TheWonderYears'': The fourth-season episode "A Very Cutlip Christmas" sees Kevin go to the mall (to buy Winnie a present) and he recognizes his nemesis, Coach Edward Cutlip, as Santa Claus. Instead of his overbearing, bullying behavior shown in class, Cutlip is shown to be very tender and kind to little children, a point he makes to Kevin when the two visit about their encounter. Kevin sees Coach in a new light and is rewarded with kinder treatment, but it doesn't last. Still, Kevin gets some new insights about Coach: the man he is at school (a pushy, overbearing teacher who tries too hard to get the most out of his students) and the man he is outside the classroom (a deeply insecure man who loves children and truly sees working with youths as his passion). |
| 158 | * A few have been featured on ''Series/WorldsDumbest''. They tend to be very drunk. |
| 159 | [[/folder]] |
| 160 | |
| 161 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 162 | * Music/TheBeachBoys' song "Santa's Beard", from their 1964 Christmas album, is from the perspective of someone taking his 5-year-old brother to see Santa at the mall. The younger brother sits on Santa's lap and pulls his beard off, realizes he's fake, and feels betrayed. Thinking fast, the singer replies that the mall Santa is one of Santa's helpers outside of the North Pole. |
| 163 | * Music/FountainsOfWayne has a song called "The Man in the Santa Suit" about an unnamed guy doing this. He is not very good at it, but the song is from his POV, so it's pointed out that neither is anyone else. |
| 164 | * Music/BobRivers, a parody artist, did a version of "Here Comes Santa Claus" called "There's Another Santa Claus" that is all about this basic concept. |
| 165 | -->''There's another Santa Claus there / One at the mall and one in the window / Sitting in a velvet chair / Fat ones, skinny ones, tall ones, short ones / Cheeks so rosy and bright / That Christmas cheer smells a lot like beer / Call Santa Claus a cab tonight.'' |
| 166 | [[/folder]] |
| 167 | |
| 168 | [[folder:News Media]] |
| 169 | * The I Can Has Cheezburger site "Sketchy Santas", which displays odd, awkward and sometimes slightly scary moments with real mall Santas. |
| 170 | [[/folder]] |
| 171 | |
| 172 | [[folder:Newspaper Comics]] |
| 173 | * ''ComicStrip/MadamAndEve'': Thandi ambushes the Mall Santa and forces him to listen to her wish list [[http://www.madamandeve.co.za/cartoons/me000815.gif here.]] |
| 174 | * ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'': |
| 175 | ** In an often-reprinted strip, Linus tells Lucy that he wished the store Santa a Happy Hanukkah and discussed "Judas Maccabeus and the cleansing of the Temple" with him. "It's not often you find a Santa Claus interested in religion", he says... |
| 176 | ** It also occurred in a later series of strips which involved Sally Brown expressing her concern that Santa could, "have a coronary in some kid's living room", and visiting a department store to tell the Santa there to watch out for his cholesterol and try to, "check for a crease in his ear lobes." [[spoiler: She gets chucked out of the place and arrives home to hear news that a department store Santa had a heart attack and had to be rushed to hospital after a little girl caused a disturbance earlier on.]] |
| 177 | * {{Parodied}} in ''ComicStrip/PearlsBeforeSwine'' when Rat and Pig [[ItMakesSenseInContext accidentally end up with the preserved body of Ho Chi Minh]] and take him to the mall dressed as Santa. |
| 178 | --> '''Rat:''' Go ahead, kid...tell Ho Ho Ho Chi Minh what you want for next Christmas. |
| 179 | [[/folder]] |
| 180 | |
| 181 | [[folder: Puppet Shows]] |
| 182 | * In "A Berry Bear Christmas" on ''Series/BearInTheBigBlueHouse'', the kids were told that Santa Claus was busy, so they got to meet one of his helpers, Santa ''Hogg'', at the Woodland Valley Mall, who was actually just regular character Doc Hogg dressed up. |
| 183 | -->'''Pip and Pop''': Doesn't he look familiar? |
| 184 | [[/folder]] |
| 185 | |
| 186 | [[folder: Radio]] |
| 187 | * The ''[[http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/lists/sedaris/ SantaLand Diaries]]'' - Humorist Creator/DavidSedaris recounts his experience as an Elf in the Macy's Santa village. |
| 188 | * Also from [[Creator/{{NPR}} Public Radio]], Act III of ''This American Life'' #371 ("[[http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/371/scenes-from-a-mall Scenes from a Mall]]") features the fascinating and [[SeriousBusiness serious]] tale of the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas (AORBS). |
| 189 | [[/folder]] |
| 190 | |
| 191 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 192 | * While not in a mall, there's a mission where you have to beat up elves belonging to a man in a Santa costume in the town square in ''VideoGame/{{Bully}}''. The hobo Santa could also count. |
| 193 | * In the ChristmasEpisode of ''VideoGame/TheDarksideDetective'', the Santa at Twin Lakes Mall is abducted and replaced by TheKrampus, who proceeds to spread chaos. This being Twin Lakes, it turns out he's the actual, real Santa, not just an old guy in a costume. |
| 194 | * A random Santa Claus can be seen wondering the streets of Dobuita late in the year in ''VideoGame/{{Shenmue}}''. He carries a bell, greets with "Merry Christmas" and everything. |
| 195 | * In the ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' comic "A Smissmas Story", Scout, Soldier, and Spy all end up being sentenced to community service for blowing up a mall santa training facility. Being Team Fortress, HilarityEnsues |
| 196 | * During the [[YouMeanXMas Feast of Winter's Veil]] in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', "Greatfather Winter" can be found in Ironforge and Orgrimmar, with both versions simply being surly actors hired by the goblin cartels commercializing the holidays. |
| 197 | * A mall Santa appears in Week 5 of ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin'', being held at gunpoint by Daddy Dearest and Mommy Mearest as they have a rap battle with Boyfriend. After their songs end, the mall is ravaged and emptied off-screen and the Monster appears wearing the Santa's bloodied hat, implying that he killed him. |
| 198 | [[/folder]] |
| 199 | |
| 200 | [[folder: WebAnimation]] |
| 201 | * ''WebAnimation/ElementAnimation'': "Christmas With the Villagers'' features a mall Santa who tells a child to "Get in the bag" after the child calls him a fake. |
| 202 | %%* In [[ChristmasEpisode Episode 38]] of ''WebAnimation/TheMostPopularGirlsInSchool'', this is one of these, and the episode centers around him. |
| 203 | [[/folder]] |
| 204 | |
| 205 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 206 | * Brad from ''Webcomic/TheClassMenagerie'' was one, and approved of a kid's desire to have a shotgun for Christmas. |
| 207 | * ''Webcomic/TheEnds'' has the crazy priest preaching from a mall Santa's chair. |
| 208 | * In ''Webcomic/KevinAndKell'', Kevin takes a temp job as a mall Santa to earn the money to buy Kell's family heirlooms from her brother Ralph, who plans to sell them off anyway. He's surprised when ex-wife Angelique, herding her stepchildren from her (failed) second marriage, fails to recognize him. (It's pointed out to him that, with twenty children to keep track of, ''anyone'' would be a bit distracted.) |
| 209 | * Psycho Mantis attempted to get a job as one in ''Webcomic/TheLastDaysOfFOXHOUND''. He bounced when someone got ahold of his employee record (or, rather, complete lack of one). Ocelot, upon learning of it, becomes completely freaked out. |
| 210 | * ''Webcomic/{{Multiplex}}'' has the Blogger play the part of a ''movie theater'' Santa, in which role he frequently argues with the kids' taste in movies, at odds with the jolly persona he's supposed to maintain. On quite a few occasions he loses the argument. |
| 211 | * Tycho from ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' [[http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2003/12/08 worked as one]]. |
| 212 | * In ''Webcomic/{{PVP}}'', Skull is accidentally pressganged into being a mall Santa while stoned on a bad orange julius and ends up telling a mother where she can buy the game console Francis had squirreled away for himself. |
| 213 | * In an early ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive'' strip, Jason works as a mall Santa. A circle of children's heads demonstrates the inevitable questions posed to him. The final panel is someone asking him what he wants for Christmas, to which he replies, "A vasectomy." |
| 214 | ** On top of this, though, the first girl on his lap mentioned how she'd asked for a kitten the year before, and [[http://somethingpositive.net/sp12042002.shtml instead got Tap shoes]] (metal plates on the heels and toes). Her mother told her to thank Santa for bringing them, and she decided [[GroinAttack to show them off]], leading into a CurseCutShort. Given ''just that'' experience, who can blame Jason for being a bit cynical? |
| 215 | * In ''Webcomic/WorldOfFizz'' Fergo, already a security guard, was assigned to play Santa at the mall one year. |
| 216 | [[/folder]] |
| 217 | |
| 218 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 219 | * An ''Webcomic/AsteroidQuest'' Christmas Special side-story has [[StealthExpert Polo]] and [[OneManArmy Rokoa]] in a BuddyCopShow, currently looking for an important witness in a mall. When he's spotted in Santa's chair, Polo is extremely displeased, because it means that the only way she can talk to the witness without attracting suspicion from nearby crooks will be through making use of her diminutive stature to approach him a a kid. |
| 220 | * One video created by ''Website/{{Buzzfeed}}'' is titled "Things Santa Does That Would be Creepy if You Did Them", and one of them is having strangers sit on your lap to negotiate. |
| 221 | * ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'': In "Christmas Tree of Might", one of Turles' mooks had this job, and he was particularly nasty about it, dropping a fire truck on one kid's house and killing another because he asked him to [[ExactWords get rid of]] his cancer. |
| 222 | -->'''Krillin''': God, you are one of the worst mall Santas ever — right behind those ones that molest kids!\ |
| 223 | '''Slay''': So I'm the ''worst'' mall Santa?\ |
| 224 | '''Krillin''': Oh, come on! |
| 225 | * There exists a widely-circulated online story of a Mall Santa in Wisconsin who took justice into his own hands by [[http://thuglifevideos.com/mall-santa-beats-up-child-molester/ beating the snot out of a child molester]] after hearing a little girl's wish that "her stepdad would stop touching her at night". It was, however, [[https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mall-santa-beat-up-child-molester/ fake]]. |
| 226 | * Creator/ImprovEverywhere has the "Mall Santa Musical" song about adults' desire to sit on a mall Santa's lap. |
| 227 | * In ''WebVideo/JackValeFilms'', one of Jack's "Nonsense" pranks takes place at a mall around Christmas, and a mall Santa joins in when Jack starts babbling about things not working. |
| 228 | * Tariq dresses up like this to earn some cash in the ''WebVideo/KateModern'' episode "Grabbed By The Bells". "You think your life is a mess? I'm a 24-year-old Muslim man dressed as Santa!" |
| 229 | * ''The Misadventures of Onipex and Pals'' had two in the second Christmas episode. One of which [[spoiler: molested Jevik as a child.]] |
| 230 | * A woman had to pose as Santa. [[http://ponderous.0catch.com/holiday3.htm Ponderous Woman]] |
| 231 | * The eponymous [[WebVideo/TheTourettesGuy Tourettes Guy]] aptly describes his dad as one. Big mistake. |
| 232 | --> '''Danny''': Fuck you and every mall Santa that looks like you! |
| 233 | * ''WebVideo/HalfLifeButTheAIIsSelfAware'' has Creator/VinDiesel serving as a ''[[spoiler:Birthday]]'' Santa during [[spoiler:Tommy's birthday party]]. |
| 234 | * The fourth episode of ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'' has a group of Cherubs trying to show an infirm, suicidal supervillain a mall Santa to show the simple joys and purpose that childhood wonderment can provide. Blitzo gives them the counter-argument by revealing "Santa" to be a gross, scabby pedophile in disguise. Chaos ensues. |
| 235 | -->'''Kid''': SANTA'S EVIL! |
| 236 | [[/folder]] |
| 237 | |
| 238 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 239 | * ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' had hard-nosed gumshoe Harvey Bullock going undercover as a mall Santa. Let's just say there have been better candidates. |
| 240 | -->'''Kid''': "You're not the real Santy Clause!" \ |
| 241 | '''Bullock''': "Sure I am. Wanna see my gun?" |
| 242 | -->'''Renee Montaya:''' ''({{Dope Slap}}s him)''. |
| 243 | * In ''{{WesternAnimation/Beetlejuice}}'', the episode "Keeping Up With the Boneses" sees Beetlejuice forced to work off his credit card debt by becoming a badly-costumed Mall Santa (a pillow he's using as stuffing is visible), with Lydia playing his elf. Beetlejuice, of course, is less than happy about all of this. |
| 244 | * ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': |
| 245 | ** In the episode, "Nice-Capades", the Belcher kids harass a man out of a store's massage chair, only to learn that he was a Mall Santa on his break. Worried that he'll tell the real Santa about their bad behavior, Louise schemes with her siblings to put on an ice show to show just how nice they were all year. |
| 246 | ** In "Yachty or Nice", Teddy is playing Santa at the Yacht Club boat parade, handing out presents donated by Yacht Club members. Louise thinks she can get Teddy to give her and her siblings good presents without getting in line, but he’s too nice to do that. |
| 247 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'' episode "A Huey Freeman Christmas" has a subplot where Riley, angry at not having received a Christmas gift he asked for in previous years, physically attacks the local Mall Santa with golf clubs and BB guns. After hiring a security guard for Santa does nothing to deter Riley, [[spoiler:Uncle Ruckus is left as the only Woodcrest resident willing to be the Mall Santa, but none of the children who come to the mall are willing to accept a black Santa Claus as real]]. |
| 248 | * ''WesternAnimation/CloneHigh'': The episode "Snowflake Day: A Very Special Holiday Episode" features a variant with a Mall Snowflake Jake, as it is established in the setting that Christmas and all other religious holidays have been abolished and replaced by a secular winter holiday called Snowflake Day, with a pirate named Snowflake Jake being the Santa Claus equivalent. |
| 249 | * In "WesternAnimation/DanVs the Mall Santa", Dan is actually an elf. However, a [[SantasExistenceClause matter of opinion]] (plus the fact that the Mall Santa is a Jerkass) causes him and the faux Santa to bicker. In the end, however, [[spoiler:Dan ends up getting him fired for beating him up, and takes his place as the Mall Santa.]] |
| 250 | * ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Stewie Griffin once got the short end of the stick with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drI3hIeczyQ an Asian Santa who rudely turns him away due to Stewie not telling him what he wants fast enough.]] |
| 251 | * The ''WesternAnimation/FanboyAndChumChum'' episode "A Very Brrr-y Christmas" has Mr. Mufflin work as a Mall Man-Arctica (an ice-themed superhero who also happens to be this universe's Santa Claus) at the Frosty Mart. |
| 252 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'': "Christmas Flintstone" has Fred get a second job at the mall and eventually becomes a Mall Santa. He loves it, but then he gets approached to stand in for a very real, very sick Santa Claus. |
| 253 | * Coco from ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' gets a job as one in "A Lost Claus", saying she needed the money to pay off her vacation home. When Mac accidentally rips her beard off, she's fired and refuses to speak to Mac for the rest of the day. |
| 254 | * Skarr from ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy''. He nearly kills Billy, but no one intervenes (except the elves) until his beard comes off. Then, everyone beats him up for not being Santa. They also start a riot and burn the mall to the ground. In his defense, Billy had emptied his bladder on Skarr's lap before he snapped. |
| 255 | * In ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget Saves Christmas'', Chief Quimby is disguised as a Mall Santa in one of the series' more memorable extended gags. |
| 256 | * [[WesternAnimation/InvaderZim Zim]] abducts a mall Santa to gain information about how to use the image of Santa Claus to TakeOverTheWorld. |
| 257 | -->'''Zim''': Who are these grubby red bearded men who smell of ham '''[[LargeHam AND VOMIT!]]''' |
| 258 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': In "The Whole Picture", one of Lincoln's photos he tries to recreate with Clyde is him sitting on a mall Santa's lap. |
| 259 | * [[WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}} Dr. Rockzo, the Rock & Roll Clown who does Cocaine,]] got a job as a Mall Santa after he was given a GetOutofJailFreeCard. [[ManChild Toki,]] who apparently believes in Santa Claus, ran into him. |
| 260 | ** "That's don'ts makes sense!" |
| 261 | * In ''A WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain Christmas'', The Brain once tried to take over the World by posing as a Mall Santa. Given his diminutive size, it did not end well. |
| 262 | * The main six in ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'' meet a mall Santa in the ChristmasEpisode. Though out of frustration, he rips his beard off and asks his assistant if they can get the next mall Santa to cover. |
| 263 | * In ''WesternAnimation/RocketPower'', the gang find an EmbarrassingOldPhoto of Otto and Reggie sitting on Santa's lap when they were younger, which features Otto crying hysterically. A subplot also features Tito auditioning to play a Mall Santa. |
| 264 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/Rugrats1991'' episode, "[[Recap/RugratsS2E14TheSantaExperience The Santa Experience]]", Angelica cuts in line to see the Mall Santa, and after she tells him the large amount of presents she wants, he tells her he isn't sure he can get them for her. Angelica then rips off his beard and runs through the mall, screaming, "Santa Claus is a fake! Run for your lives!" |
| 265 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' |
| 266 | ** In the pilot episode, Homer becomes one in order to get the money to buy his family their Christmas presents. Bart finds out it's him when Milhouse dares him to rip off his beard. |
| 267 | ** The much later episode "Kill Gil: Vols. 1 & 2" featured the title Jack Lemmon figure giving Lisa her wish in his guise as Santa, getting fired over it, and spending the next year sponging off the Simpsons. After the year has passed, [[NotAllowedToGrowUp Bart is still a ten-year-old fourth grader and Lisa is still eight and in the second grade]]. |
| 268 | * In ''WesternAnimation/SonicChristmasBlast'', when Dr. Robotnik takes over Santa’s job as "Robotnik Claus", he becomes one of these. Instead of asking children what they want to get for Christmas, he asks them what they want to give him. One little boy does not take this well and calls him out on this, which leads to Robotnik ordering Grounder to take the little boy to his dungeon. |
| 269 | [[/folder]] |
| 270 |
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