Santa Sarge

Santa Sarge is a jolly-old soul and does his best to bring joy and Christmas cheer to your event. He can read books and tell stories to groups of all ages, play games, bake cookies, or make Christmas ornaments. Santa Sarge will even sing and dance (poorly). The main thing is we have fun and capture some fantastic photos in the process.

Maury Schuh is a retired veteran with over 27 years of service, plus he served as a law enforcement officer and taught the DARE and GREAT programs in local schools. His parents portrayed Santa and Mrs. Claus for over 20 years in the Tupelo Public Schools and area businesses. Santa Sarge first donned the red suit over 20 years ago for pet photography fundraisers in Tupelo.

Santa Sarge's name began while he was a senior noncommissioned officer serving in Kosovo with the US Army. He saw a pressing need for local-national children in orphanages and schools for clothing, school supplies, and toys. Santa Sarge coordinated with churches and civic organizations in the United States to send items for the children he distributed while dressed as Father Christmas. The mission became known as "Operation Santa Sarge" and was the subject of a 2008 viral video. Santa Sarge continued his work while serving in Iraq, expanding the mission to provide gifts for children and deployed soldiers.

After Santa Sarge retired from the military, he became a "real bearded Santa." Currently, he is a Santa Claus performer for a national outdoor and sporting goods store chain. He also provides Christmas video messages for children in hospitals and special needs throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, and Great Britain. He is a member of the International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santa, a Northern Lights Santa Academy graduate, and a graduate of the International University of Santa Claus, and he received additional training through the Worldwide Santa Claus Network.

Tips for an Extraordinary Santa Visit:
1. Please be sure that Santa’s chair is not placed in front of a lit fireplace or other hot areas. Consider having a fan on in the area where Santa will be placed.
2. Please have a parking spot available for Santa. It should be nearby but not in view of the guests.
3. Santa will need a sturdy chair without arms, he has been eating a lot of cookies lately. A straight-backed dining chair will work fine. Leave a bit of room behind the chair for family photos if possible.
4. Make sure that your cameras are charged and ready to go. Try to avoid “backlit” background areas for your pictures such as a window (during the day) or a plain white wall. These backgrounds will cause your camera or cell phone to give poor results. A Christmas Tree makes for a very nice background.
5. If you have gifts to be passed out be sure that they have labels that are easy to read. Santa REALLY appreciates a helper that can call out the names! All of the gifts should be able to fit into a 32gallon trash bag and be easily carried by Santa, he is old you know. If there are more presents than his bag will hold, Santa may be able to provide an additional bag for a helper to carry.
6. Make sure that all of your guests have arrived before Santa makes his entrance. This is one of the most important parts of the visit and a big entrance means a wonderful experience!! Santa will contact you 5-10 minutes prior to his arrival.
7. Santa quit smoking his pipe many years ago and would prefer to not be around smoke as it makes his suit smell and Mrs. Claus does not appreciate the smell.
8. If payment is due, please place it inside of a Christmas card or a “Letter to Santa” and hand it to Santa at the end of his visit stating, “This is something that we would like you to have.” I so appreciate you allowing Santa Sarge to be a part of your Christmas memories and I look forward to being with you on your wonderful Christmas Journey.

Additional Tips for Large Families, Business Parties, and Special Events:
1. Depending on how long the visit is, Santa may need periodic breaks. Please predetermine a private place where Santa can change out of his heavy coat, drink some cool water, and have an available restroom.
2. Have a helper, someone assigned to control the line and crowd. We want to make sure all the children get an opportunity to spend quality time with Santa.
3. Santa’s helper should check the children’s hands and faces for sticky or messy areas. Have some wipes to help with this task. This also makes for much better pictures for everyone.