Greenbank Santa spreads peace and joy

When David Paull wears his red suit and white gloves, something magic happens to the 83-year-old and those who meet him.

Suddenly, he is no longer Paull, but Santa Claus, inside and out. As he sits with his elves at the Greenbank Farm, where he has been greeting families for 17 years, many are drawn to his comforting aura.

At 3 p.m. this Saturday, Santa will bring the magic of Christmas to the farm, making a grand entrance on board a fire truck and joining the Holiday Lights and Market event, where kids can ask him all about his journey around the world and his helpers in the North Pole.

While he stopped believing in Santa Claus sooner than most kids do, Paull, who lives in Greenbank, never doubted the spirit of the legendary man and his power of evoking wholesome emotions from children and adults who seek unconditional acceptance.

“Hardly anyone comes to you in a state of anger,” he said. “That’s part of the mystery of our existence as humans. I think we all crave peace.”

While he has a sense of care for everyone, Paull is particularly fond of children, and is incapable of getting upset at them. When his daughter was born 60 years ago, back when he lived in Washington D.C., she came into the world with an aura that he described as “otherworldly” and found himself overwhelmed with a sense of tenderness.

After working for years as a bus driver, a motorcycle instructor and a Montessori teacher, Paull has been finding joy in bringing a smile to children and seeing the wonder in their eyes during their brief encounters.

His fascination for Santa and childhood gave way to his decision to attend a professional Santa school in Colorado, where he perfected the art of embodying, rather than merely playing, Santa Claus. During the three-day course, Paull learned a lot about Santa’s lore, mannerisms and quirks to be as believable as possible.

Towards the end of the experience, all the Santas were put to the test by bringing in a group of children to interact with, and Paull made the cut.

In a way it felt like theater, he said, as he recalled being evaluated based on things such as the tone and volume of his voice, his hand placement and his ability to answer children’s questions in a believable way.

Unless it’s a baby, Paull rarely holds children or adults who pay him a visit, simply hovering their hand over them in an emotional embrace. As they sit on the stool next to him at the Greenbank Farm, the children ask him all sorts of questions ranging from logistics to his body weight.

Once one hits a certain age, Paull said, it isn’t hard for a little child to believe the man in front of them is 300 years old. When asked about how he does his job, Santa explains he uses high-speed sleighs for intercontinental travel and switches to a slower-speed sleigh to move from one home to the other.

The reindeers are only able to fly on Christmas Eve thanks to the magic of the holiday, just as his giant golden key can only allow him passage through narrow chimneys for only one night a year. This time-limited miracle assures kids that Santa won’t be breaking into their homes on a random day in July, Paull laughed.

As they hold Gracie, Santa’s polar teddy bear, children often ask for toys Paull has never heard before. Instead of making promises, he tells them he will check with his elves if there is anything similar that is being produced in the North Pole. Regardless, he tells them, they will appreciate whatever they will find under the tree.

“They believe in you, but if they don’t get what they want on Christmas Day, they’re not mad at you,” he said.

Some children, especially the younger ones, are hesitant or scared to meet Santa. An effective trick to get a tear-free photo, Paull said, is to have parents hold the child and sit next to him, keeping the child forward enough that Santa is out of their view while giving the illusion that they are posing next to each other.

While they may be initially suspicious, children often find comfort in holding Gracie, listening to the sound of Santa’s reindeer bells, admiring Santa’s watch that plays a series of Christmas tunes or flipping through the illustrated pages of “The Night Before Christmas” as Santa recites the poem.

Whenever he’s fully immersed in his Santa persona, Paull finds that time flies. As their brief meeting comes to an end, Santa reminds children to brush their teeth, go to bed early and be kind.

Then, he welcomes the next child with the same amount of kindness and patience, his inner peace kept safe within his Santa persona’s mental fortitude.

Once he’s in that headspace, he might as well be the real deal.

“I am as real Santa as you will ever meet,” he tells children.

Paull’s Santa can be found at the Greenbank Farm Saturday, Nov. 30, from 3 p.m. 5 p.m., and from 2 to 4 p.m. on Dec. 1, 7 and 8. All proceeds will support the farm’s improvement fund. Jerry Swanson, another Santa, will be at the farm from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on both weekends.

(Photo provided) The Greenbank Farm’s Santa poses with Bob Moore from Central Whidbey Fire and Rescue and elves Sparky (at left) and Starky. A fire truck will bring Santa to the farm at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30.