Although he may represent the most commercial aspect of the Christmas holiday, Santa Claus at the Muncie Mall has a mission other than promoting materialism.
"My business is to pass out smiles," the man in the red suit said. "I think there is a need."
Bill Wood, 57, has portrayed the jolly old man at the mall for the past two years. He said his work is a chance to help others realize the true meaning of Christmas. To Wood, Christmas means sharing happiness and spreading joy to others.
"He doesn't think of (portraying Santa Claus) as a job," Stacey Nance, director of marketing at Muncie Mall, said. "The children get joy out of it, and so does he."
But the retired Anderson resident said he doesn't know exactly why he decided to don the red suit and grow out his beard in the first place.
"When you start off, you don't know why you start, but you get hooked" Wood said.
What hooked Wood was the joy he could spread as the Christmas icon. He said when he walks through the mall without his costume, he's just a regular guy. When he puts on the red suit, however, people can't help but to crack a smile and get a gleam in their eyes.
"He's the best Santa," said the mother of a young girl as she sat her daughter on Santa's lap. "I'm glad he comes back every year."
Wood targets his smiles at more than just young children. His cheer has no limits, he said.
"When the kids are all gone, I go for the humbugs," Wood said, sitting on a big green chair in the middle of the mall.
He defined a "humbug" as an unexpecting middle-aged person who goes to the mall to buy one item. It's the type of person who is focused on a quick trip to the mall, not the joy of the holiday season.
"If I can catch their eye, they have to wave," Wood said. He added that no one can deny Santa's friendly smile and jovial wave.
But portraying Santa isn't always about joy. Sad moments make their way to Santa's lap, too.
Visitors to Santa's set-up at the mall will notice a small stuffed teddy bear sitting on top of the green chair, just behind his shoulder. Wood said he received the toy from a little girl two years ago. The little girl, like most youngsters, came to sit upon his lap full of joy and offered him the gift. He said she had a Christmas wish list similar to most other children.
"I asked her what (her) mom wanted for Christmas," Wood said.
The little girl gave an unsure answer, he said, and looked to her mother who was standing nearby. The mother told Santa she wanted her young daughter to get well. The girl had been diagnosed with leukemia two days before.
"I take the bear home every night and open with it every day," Wood said with tears welling in his eyes. "I hope somebody sees it and tells me how she is."
For Wood, Santa doesn't just take gift orders and deliver toys on Christmas Eve. He serves as an instrument of hope for young and old.
"You'll have children who are really too old to believe in Santa, but their last hope is Santa," Wood said. "All they want is for mommy and daddy to live together again."
Most children ask Santa for the usual gifts, though. Wood said he often hears requests for skateboards, bicycles and dolls.
"A little boy asked for a bale of hay the other day," Wood said. "I never have figured out why."
Children aren't the only ones who Santa sees during the holiday season. Wood said he takes his red suit and cheerful manner to nursing homes, too. The elderly don't ask for material gifts like children, he said. They often just enjoy the idea of the jolly old man and the memories he invokes.
While Wood said he's not sure what initially drove him to become Santa, he said the work he does while in costume comes from a higher source.
"It's a calling," Wood said about using Santa's image to spread cheer. "God works with us in different ways."
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