For the countless adoring fans of legendary actress and singer Angela Lansbury, her recent passing no doubt evoked visions of her most memorable roles. For many, that would no doubt be the fictional writer and sleuth Jessica Fletcher in the American whodunit series Murder, She Wrote, which ran for twelve seasons. For others, the part they remember most fondly might be the one that earned Ms. Lansbury a Tony award for the cheerfully demented Mrs. Lovett in Stephen Sondheim’s 1979 operatic musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
And just to give you an insight into Ms. Lansbury’s dramatic range, consider that she also played Mrs. Lovett’s polar (get it, “polar”?) opposite, the equally cheerful role of Saint Nick’s spouse in the 1996 Hallmark Home Entertainment TV movie, Mrs. Santa Claus.
Which got us to thinking: What do we really know about the domestic life of Santa and the unassuming Mrs. Claus? A cursory google search proffers a handful of links to the aforementioned Hallmark movie, a musical fantasy–comedy about the “invisible wife,” and not much in the way of her actual lineage. Where was she born? Who were her parents? How did she even meet Santa Claus in the first place?
In truth, jolly ol’ Saint Nick gets the lion’s share of Christmas limelight, and the reindeer and his merry elves receive the rest. But the old adage, “Behind every great man stands a great woman,” holds true across time and terrain. After all, even the legendary Winston Churchill is quoted as saying, “My most brilliant achievement was my ability to persuade my wife to marry me.” With that in mind, let’s shine the light on our splendid Mrs. Claus and imagine ourselves in her world for a moment.
What It’s Like to Be Mrs. Claus
For starters, she lives at the North Pole—nippy, to say the least. Brrrrr! Her husband is home all day, every day, and goes to work only one night per year. All Santa’s boisterous employees—too many to count!—live in her home. She, the kind and caring Mrs. Claus, must look after the elves like a brood of innumerable children so they can do the best job of making beautiful toys for children around the world. She likely must tend to the reindeer as well, cleaning their stalls and keeping them fed. That once-a-year round-the-world flight surely gives the animals a voracious appetite; and doing nothing for the rest of the year probably makes them quite frisky, especially Donner and Blitzen. And don’t even get me started on Rudolph!
And of course, chez Claus is always overflowing with cookies, candy canes, jellybeans, and other treats. Like all caring spouses, Mrs. Claus must keep an eye on her husband’s waistline. What if he doesn’t fit into his suit the night before Christmas! While she monitors Santa’s diet, she must also constantly exercise her own willpower to resist the irresistible sweets.
When Santa’s one night on the job finally arrives, she probably stays up for hours on end, worrying about how the long journey around the world is going. Will Santa be able to deliver all the presents in time? Are his fingers and toes warm enough? Is his back acting up again? Could all those cookies in his belly be giving him a tummy ache?
Rinse and Repeat
Finally, when the exhausted Santa returns home, Mrs. Claus—tired as she is—must now tend to his aches and pains and listen attentively to the details of his night at work: how he braved several blizzards, but still managed to give away all the presents on time, returning home with a sack full of happy stories, while the luminous squeals of delight receded behind him. Blah, blah, blah. She’s heard all the tales hundreds of times already, yet she patiently listens again.
But there is no rest for the weary. As the year comes to a close, the mail starts flowing in again. It is already time for Santa and Mrs. Claus to start reading the endearing, imploring epistles from across the globe. And then she has to file them away, so none get lost or forgotten. It’s no easy task playing second fiddle to Santa, is it now?!
Perhaps this Christmas, when you set up a life-size Santa statue in your office lobby, you may want to place by his side the 61″ tall fiberglass Mrs. Claus statue with a fade-resistant topcoat. With the heart of a doting grandmother who never tires of caring for her loved ones, the statue of Mrs. Claus captures the essence of that tender, loving spirit. At 81 pounds, Santa’s steadfast companion holds steady like the rock of Gibraltar on her floor/ground mounting plates in any environment.
Santa and Mrs. Claus would also look lovely out in the snow in your front yard. The six-foot Mrs. Claus statue is dressed in crimson to complement the six-foot-tall Santa wearing his iconic bright red velvet suit. Whatever the location, be sure to place Santa and Mrs. Clause side by side. They belong together.
