The Daily Campus

Issue date: 12/10/07 Section: Finals Extra

Media Credit: Jamie Dee Fish Rich and Anne Carlquist, who have been Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Eastbrook Mall in Willimantic since 2000.

The day after Thanksgiving means long lines and bargain hunting for most, but for Rich and Anne Carlquist, it means the beginning of a daily commute to the North Pole.

Every year beginning on Black Friday, the Carlquists drive 40 minutes from their home in Vernon to the Eastbrook Mall in Willimantic. There, nestled between BankNorth and The Hoot, surrounded by a white picket fence, is Santa's house.

Adults have to stoop down a little to glance in the windows, but passing children have a perfect view of Santa, who waves from where he sits inside with a stash of candy canes, waiting to entertain Christmas requests.

"I love people and I love kids … it's one of the few jobs where it's always a happy time," said Rich Carlquist, who has been Santa Claus at the Eastbrook Mall since 2000.

When you visit Santa's house you are greeted at the entrance by Mrs. Claus, who is dressed in a long, red velvet dress trimmed with white fur. Mrs. Claus, also known as Anne, handles Santa's business affairs, which include taking and printing the pictures that visitors purchase in packages starting at $10.

Although the Carlquists' Santa Stand at the Eastbrook Mall is technically a business, stepping inside the small wooden house is a cozy, intimate experience vastly different from the long lines and hurried atmosphere that characterize the same experience at larger malls.

"It's not the best paying job but it's the most rewarding, that's why we do it [at Eastbrook]," Rich said.

While the house itself is owned and provided by the Eastbrook Mall, the Carlquists run their own business. The digital camera, computer and photo equipment are all theirs. So are their matching red suits, Claus' long white beard and the square spectacles that sit halfway down his nose.

Being an independent enterprise allows the Carlquists to make visits to Santa a little more personal. Being Santa is more about interacting with the local community and seeing the smiles of the children who visit him than making a profit, according to Carlquist. If a family doesn't want to or can't afford to purchase a picture, they are still invited to stop in and chat with Santa and Mrs. Claus. When traffic to the North Pole is slow, Carlquist will watch Christmas movies and is sometimes joined by passing children.

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