A Williams Lake man enjoys playing the role of Santa, something he has been doing for more than 20 years.
"I love making people happy and it's one of the ways of doing it," John Rowat told the Tribune.
Born and raised in Williams Lake, he was the youngest of four boys.
The schools he attended were Kwaleen Elementary, Glendale Elementary, Anne Stevenson Junior Secondary and Full Gospel Christian on Twelfth Avenue.
His introduction to Santa was through his parents, Richard and Noelle Rowat, who hosted a big Christmas party for their relatives every year.
"We had a Santa suit and we'd get one of the friends of the family to dress up," he recalled.
In his late teens, he wore the suit for one of the family parties and when he moved out, his parents gave him the suit.
"I got married and my wife, Deb, is a seamstress. Because the suit was getting pretty old she made me a new one," he said "I've actually got a custom-made suit."
One of the things about being Santa he loves the most is seeing the expression on the faces of the "kids" he interacts with.
"When I say kids it doesn't matter if they are two-weeks-old or right up to 100 years old. We ran into a guy in the park, when your reporter Andie was taking photographs of me. He was thrilled to chat with me and I think he was in his 60s."
He and Deb have four daughters and four grandchildren and he said his favourite thing about Christmas is spending time with them.
"I also love the way the house smells with all the different baking and we make our own candy," he said.
While he has been busy with photo opportunities around Williams Lake in December, he plans to return home to the North Pole soon to get ready for Christmas Eve deliveries.
He did receive all the letters to Santa too, he said reassuringly.
"I had some special arrangements in some different shops and stores all over the world, especially around Williams Lake. They made sure that I got the letters."
When pressed for some insider information about Santa, he responded that Santa "loves bacon."
"I love chocolate chip cookies too. Not just the little chips, but the big chunks of chocolate," he said, adding that he does love milk.
Santa was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2009 and since then has adopted a gluten-free diet, which he confirmed helps immensely.
As for favourite Christmas carols, he insisted he loves a lot of them.
"I do enjoy Hark the Herald Angels Sing. I also think there is one song that is really comical, because I was there when Grandma got run over by a reindeer. It was an accident, but it was also pretty hilarious."
Pausing for a moment, he then said one of his favourite songs of the season is actually Snoopy's Christmas.
"It talks about how it doesn't matter about our differences, because especially at this time of year we can still put our differences aside and enjoy each other's company."
When he's not busy with Christmas duties, he is a truck driver, hauling water for NorWest Vac & Environmental Ltd, or he's out hunting, fishing, smoking meat or riding his motorbike.
"I love the outdoors," he said.
On behalf of himself, his elves and "of course," Mrs. Claus, Santa wished everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
