Santa and Mrs . Claus with some special guests at the Festival of Trees . Provided photo .
in Danville , Westville ’ s Santa Anonymous and also home visits at a low cost . He ’ s done a couple holiday-time weddings , too , helping keep children busy .
“ That ’ s what it is , it ’ s all about the kids ,” he said . “ And I ’ m a big kid myself .”
After having a first Santa suit with the Danville Jaycees , he still has that suit that ’ s pretty worn out . He ’ s bought more suits as the years have passed , with another new suit he ordered this year .
“ After spending 10 to 12 hours a day at the festival ( Festival of Trees ),” he said , “ it gets a little sweaty at times . This way I can swap back and forth and be able to keep going .”
He ’ s customized his suit and has the best accessories .
“ I wish I could grow my own beard ,” Schroeder said . “ I get a bunch of stubbles but that ’ s about as far as it goes . I ’ ve never been lucky enough to be able to grow a full beard , not that I haven ’ t tried .”
So , he ’ s always has a fake white beard , but he buys the more expensive beards that look like real hair .
“ I think it pretty well fools all of them ,” he said .
Schroeder said his wife , Sherrie , also made straps on the beard , so if children pull on it , it ’ s not going anywhere and stays in place .
What children request for Christmas from Santa also has changed through the years .
Some are more emotional requests , such as if he will cure a child ’ s mom ’ s cancer or help a sick brother .
“ I ’ ve had some pretty tough questions to try to answer ,” Schroeder said . “ Lucky enough Santa kind of has an answer for everything , even if it ’ s not right .”
He said he tries his best . Those are also the times when he has to hold back the tears . “ It ’ s tough ,” he said .
As far as toy requests , Schroeder does his research and visits Blain ’ s Farm and Fleet ’ s Toyland to see the latest toys and how they work .
This way , he knows what range of toys to electronics the children are talking about .
One trick he does when a child asks for a phone or computer or something like that , he will say Santa doesn ’ t bring those types of things , that is something mom or dad would get . He tells the children Santa normally brings toys and clothes and other things .
He said some parents can ’ t afford some of the larger electronic items children ask for .
He gets a lot of Xbox and other video game requests , and for the latest cell phones .
Other questions from children are about Santa ’ s reindeer . He will tell them when the reindeer go up on the roof , they go into invisible mode and the children can ’ t see them .
Schroeder has a bell on him to tell the children that ’ s how the reindeer know he ’ s coming .
He also gets questions specifically about Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer . Schroeder tells the children , some days Rudolph is with him and sometimes not . He tells them Rudolph needs some rest time as it gets closer to Christmas in case his nose is needed and he ’ s ready to go .
Schroeder said some children want to know where Mrs . Claus is .
Of course at the Festival of Trees , he has Mrs . Claus with him played by Sherry Cole .
“ We play the part . I think when
8 ILLIANA MAGAZINE — WINTER 2022