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Mall Santa: Difference between revisions
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Added points if the Mall Santa is drunk.
The female equivalent is being stuck in a [[Sexy Santa Dress]] and/or hideous [[Christmas Elves|"helper elf"]] outfit.
In more outlandish shows with [[Speculative Fiction]] or [[Mundane Fantastic]] premises, the character may be [[Saving Christmas|the real deal]].
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== [[Comic Books]] ==
* In issue #378 of ''[[Hulk|The Incredible Hulk]]'' (by [[Peter David]]), Rhino (a supervillain) becomes a Mall Santa, He givies this advice to kids: "Give! Give! Give! You want everything handed to you! Why not do what I do? Take stuff! See it? Want it? Take it!"
* ''[[Archie]]'' comics have used this plot in many a Christmas themed storyline.
** Archie gets this job himself a lot. One year he tried to use it to get present intel from Betty and Veronica, but the girls saw through it and tricked him instead. Another year he learned the [[True Meaning of Christmas]] from some special children he met on the job.
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* Both versions of ''[[Miracle on 34th Street]]'' use the real Santa, Kris Kringle, as a department store Santa. In the original, it's Macy's; in the remake, it's [[Brand X|Cole's]]. At least in the original, he's replacing a terrible, drunken [[Mall Santa]], so bonus points there.
* ''[[Elf]]'' - Buddy, who knows the real Santa, is incensed when an impostor shows up at the department store he works in. He accuses the fake of smelling "like beef and cheese!" and gets into a fistfight with him. After that, the store gets a different Santa- who is ''black''.
* The European horror/comedy short subjects ''[[Rare Exports]]'' purport to tell the true story of where the red-suited entities seen in stores at Christmas actually come from. {{spoiler|They're actually centuries-old cryptozoological wild men, captured and trained until they can be trusted to hold children on their laps without ripping them apart. That is, unless someone is foolish enough to do one of the things that enrages them... }} It's revealed in [[The Movie]] {{spoiler|that these "Santas" are in fact just Santa's little elves. The ''real'' Santa is [[Eldritch Abomination|much, much worse]]. And most definitely [[Mall Santa]] material.}}
* In ''[[Home Alone]]'', Kevin runs to find a Santa in time on Christmas Eve. He finds one getting into his car after quiting time. He quickly puts his beard back on and does his best Jolly Old St. Nick, but Kevin tells him not to bother. He already knows he's not the real Santa, but he knows he does work for him. He then asks him to relay the message that he wants his family back.
* Look ''Who's Talking Now'' features Kirstie Alley's character having to work as a department store Santa's Elf. A kid asks her if she's an elf, and she replies that she's [[Actor Allusion|actually a]] [[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan|Vulcan]].
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== [[Literature]] ==
* In the ''[[Discworld]]'' novel ''Hogfather'', Death (who's ''already'' standing in for the real deal), attempts to replace the Hogfather at an expensive department store. Since he already has the Hogfather's sack, he horrifies the store owner by giving away wonderful presents, thereby heavily eating into the profits.
** Not to mention Death's failure to perceive certain human conventions regarding appropriate gifts for children. Such as the full-size, completely real ''broadsword'' he hands to a little girl, before being hastily convinced that a fully functional weapon might not be the best idea (he just turned the blade to wood).
*** He gives children toys that they actually want, rather than what their parents consider appropriate for them. Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes not.
* In Nathan Englander's humourous short story ''Reb Kringle'', Itzik, a devoutly Orthodox Jew, reluctantly takes this job because he and his wife need the money and he already has the requisite long white beard and big belly. Itzik takes in stride the typical annoyances of overly-greedy requests and attempts to remove his beard, but loses it when the child of an interfaith couple admits he'd rather celebrate Hanukkah.
* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[Prospero's Daughter|Prospero Lost]]'', feeling the barghests, Miranda asks for direction, and is sent to the mall. Where they find that the [[Mall Santa]] is actually Father Christmas, who can deal easily with a pack of [[Hell Hound|Hell Hounds]]/[[Living Shadow|Living Shadows]].
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** Then there was the Sally Field/Tony, Toni, Tone episode where Chris Farley's motivational speaker character Matt Foley plays a Mall Santa.
* In the ''[[Drake and Josh]]'' Christmas [[The Movie|movie]], Drake plays Santa, while his brother Josh plays Santa's sack (of toys). Drake ends up making a promise to a little girl that the two of them spend the rest of the movie keeping.
* There was an episode of ''[[That '70s Show|That 70's Show]]'' where Red worked as a Mall Santa:
** Little Girl: "I want a pony!"
** Red: "Ponies die."
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== Other ==
* ''[http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/lists/sedaris/ The Santaland Diaries]'' - Humorist [[David Sedaris]] recounts his experience as an Elf in the Macy's Santa village.
* Also from [[NPR|Public Radio]], Act III of ''This American Life'' #371 ("[http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/371/scenes-from-a-mall Scenes from a Mall]") features the fascinating and [[Serious Business|serious]] tale of the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas (AORBS).
* The I Can Has Cheezburger site "Sketchy Santas", which displays odd, awkward and sometimes slightly scary moments with real mall Santas.
* The Capital One ad with the inversion of the beard pull trope-the kid on Santa's lap is the kid who's one of the Vikings in the commercial. He has a beard, despite the fact he's too young to, and Santa pulls it, which makes the kid say 'ouch'.
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