Rich and Anne Carlquist, who have been Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Eastbrook Mall in Willimantic since 2000.

Christmas With The Clauses

Local Couple Shares Experience Of Being Christmas' 'First Couple'

By: Kate King

Posted: 12/10/07

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.

On the walls inside Santa's house are letters sent to the Eastbrook Mall from local children. Every year the Carlquists display the letters, which often include artwork. If the children include a return address, then the Carlquists will mail back personal replies.

"This is a small town so we can afford to do small town things," Carlquist said, adding that the personal and intimate atmosphere at Eastbrook Mall is something bigger malls, like Buckland Hills, can't provide.

Carlquist, a former resident of Willimantic, is a well-known figure to many of the 4,000 to 5,000 children whose families he estimates visit and take pictures with him each year.

He has worked at the mall for 12 years, formerly at a business he ran called "Mug Shots," a stand in the mall that sells personalized gifts.

Carlquist still owns the business but is no longer active in it, having entered retirement except for the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve when he works as Santa Claus. However, he is still able to keep in touch with his cliental. Some of his customers from "Mug Shots" are now married and bring their children to sit on Santa's lap.

Anne Carlquist was also an employee of the Eastbrook Mall before she became both Mrs. Carlquist and Mrs. Claus. She managed the footwear store Westies and would often visit her sister, who was the manager of the GNC store.

It was there, in the GNC across from "Mug Shots" that the Carlquists met in 1997. In 2000 they decided to go into the Santa business together. They have been married now almost four years.

The average age of visitors to Santa is about four or five years old. However, there is no height, age or even weight limit to visiting Santa and sitting on his lap.

So far this season, the ages of customers have ranged from a 7-week-old baby to a grandmother who wouldn't divulge her age - Anne guessed she was in her mid-70s.

Students from nearby colleges and universities also stop in to take a picture with Santa.

"The college students are a lot of fun, you never know what to expect," Carlquist said.

One of the Carlquists' favorite memories is from 2004, when five members of the UConn wrestling team came by to visit Santa. All five crowded around Santa for a picture and even took turns sitting on his lap.

"I nearly retired that year," Carlquist joked. "Those kids were big!"

"I would let those UConn wrestlers sit on my lap," Anne countered.

But when a child is on Carlquist's lap, he recognizes how important a private audience with Santa is to a child who still believes.

Carlquist said that he is amazed that even in today's high-tech world that "up to the age of 6 or 7 most kids really do still believe in Santa."

When children visit Santa he tries to be alert and sensitive to their comfort level and desire for privacy. Some of the younger children are scared of sitting on Santa's lap, a fear that Carlquist believes is due to his long, flowing beard and large red hat. Ultimately, the goal is to make the child's visit to Santa a positive experience and the Carlquists try their best to make a nervous child comfortable.

"This is a no-cry zone," Carlquist said.

If a child is scared or intimidated, the Carlquists will invite family members in to provide reassurance or offer to have Mrs. Claus take a picture with the child instead.

Once the child is comfortable, Carlquist asks them what they would like for Christmas. So far this year, the hot items seem to be Webkins. However, there are still many requests for classic favorites such as Barbies, puppies, electronics and Dora the Explorer.

One of the more unique requests that the Carlquists have heard this season came from a boy they estimate to have been around 12 or 13 years old, asking that his parents do his homework for a week.

Other Christmas wishes are more serious. Carlquist said on several occasions children have told him that for Christmas they want their parents who are separated or divorced to get back together.

"The unusual requests are out of the realm of the toy store," Carlquist said, adding that he responds to these types of situations by promising to say a prayer and saying "I'll see what I can do."

Despite the high expectations that accompany commercialized Christmas, the Carlquists believe that for most children, Christmas isn't necessarily about getting the exact items they asked for.

"They might not have gotten what they asked for, but when you look back on your Christmas, you got what you wanted," Carlquist said. "It's not about the Nintendo."

Contact Kate King at
Katherine.King@UConn.edu.