PAHOA — It’s a busy time of year for Santa Claus.
That means a busy time of year for the man in the red suit’s many representatives, who step in for Mr. Claus while final holiday preparations take place at the North Pole.
In Pahoa, where Santa’s sleigh is a red Jeep, one of those representatives is Phil Jennings.
Jennings, 68, had the place of honor during Saturday’s annual Christmas parade in Pahoa. It was his second time in the parade, having taken up the torch passed by longtime Santa Steve Sparks.
But though he’s relatively new to the parade itself, Jennings is no stranger to being Santa.
It’s safe to say that if you have a neatly-trimmed snow-white beard and blue eyes that crinkle at the edges, you’re going to be, as Jennings’ family calls it, “Claused.”
When Jennings and his wife, Sue, make trips to the mainland to visit family, wide-eyed kids do double-takes in the airport (Santa flies coach when he doesn’t fly reindeer). The Jennings used to take summer vacation trips to Tahiti, where kids waved and greeted Santa by his French name, Papa Noel. On one visit, Papa Noel brought a cooler full of Mardi Gras beads to give to the kids.
Before the Jennings retired to the Big Island, Jennings was given a hand-me-down Santa suit, which he donned for the occasional work Christmas party. On moving to Pahoa, the couple became involved in regular volunteer work for Alu Like’s Ke Ola Pono No Na Kupuna program, and Jennings was asked to be Santa for the kupuna over the holidays.
Sue made him a Tahitian-print pareo for the event — the Santa suit wasn’t designed for tropical temperatures.
But Jennings does wear the red-and-white at the Nanawale Community Association’s Christmas party, where he takes holiday requests from toddlers and teenagers — as well as their parents and grandparents — alike.
“You’ve got to ask about being good,” Jennings said, joking that his wife had asked him to stop carrying around a bag of charcoal.
Though it’s no small feat to represent Mr. Claus, Jennings says he enjoys this time of year. It’s a way to give back, he said.
And it comes with some other festive benefits.
“When in Rome, one does as the Romans,” Jennings said, eyes twinkling, as he glanced down at his slippers.
They were covered in red-and-white tinsel.