Mall Santas begin new year in therapy after lying to thousands of children
Mall Santas begin new year in therapy after lying to thousands of children
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (The Egg) — The Christmas season is a time of great joy for most children, especially when they go to the mall to see Santa Claus. Unfortunately, the new year begins with immense guilt and therapy for the mall Santas that have lied to thousands of children.
“It’s a busy time of year for us, for sure,” said clinical therapist Eileen McKellin, who runs a weekly support group for Santa Claus actors. “Our clients are usually in a pretty bad mental state after spending weeks shredding the children’s Christmas letters and promising them all sorts of things.”
The typical mall Santa gig lasts about six weeks, and they will see thousands of children by Christmas Eve. After lying to almost all of them, many like Santa Tom, will seek therapy to help process the guilt they feel on Christmas morning.
“I don’t know why I do it, but I get a sick kick out of telling kids they’ll get phones, computers, tickets to games and concerts. I even said I would help some girl get famous on TikTok,” Santa Tom said.
“Just imagine her disappointment when I ghost her … I do feel a little bad however,” he continued.
McKellin’s support group tries to teach the mall Santas that it’s inappropriate to promise children things, but many express they feel “beat down” by them, and some even say the children look like they “deserve to be disappointed.”
“Many of our clients are people I wouldn’t trust with children, but I do my best to help them work out their problems. At least they're not as bad as the elf actors,” McKellin said.
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