When Santa isn’t delivering gifts all over the world or trying to keep warm at the North Pole, he makes his offseason home on Lake John in Annandale.
He tries to keep a low profile, going by the name Robert Fleskes, but a popular new Christmas book published in September might make that task a little more difficult, because Fleskes bears a striking resemblance to the Santa who inhabits the book’s pages.
In fact, looking closer, it appears that Santa and Fleskes are one and the same, and he plays a key role in "A Christmas Wish" by the husband and wife team of Lori Evert and Per Breiehagen.
The book includes stunning composite photography by Breiehagen, and tells the story of a young girl who wishes to become an elf. She treks to the North Pole, receiving help from various animals along the way, and Fleskes enters the story as she reaches her destination.
By this week, the book had reached No. 5 on the New York Times Best Sellers list under the Children’s Picture Books category.
A popular Santa
As one might imagine, given his Santa-like qualities, Fleskes has had numerous opportunities to appear as Santa over the years.
Imposters abound, but Fleskes has some pretty convincing credentials and a wardrobe straight out of the North Pole to prove his authenticity.
Also known as Santa Bob, Fleskes has been making appearances as Santa for about 20 years now, often in catalogues and promotional publications. He has even starred in a Christmas commercial on NBC.
Fleskes also spent 14 years patiently entertaining thousands at the Oakwood Mall in Eau Claire around the holidays, listening to Christmas wishes and posing for photographs.
All that might seem a bit bold for a Santa who is trying to retain some semblance of anonymity at his Annandale home during off-duty days, but Fleskes thought of the perfect antidote to anyone who might guess his true identity years ago - he appeared in a deer hunting book long before anyone ever saw him wearing a red suit.
That, if nothing else, gives him an undisputable fallback point if anyone presses him about being the real Santa. It may be a double life, but even Santa needs a break now and then, and Annandale has provided that refuge for Fleskes for the past 15 years.
Still, Fleskes can’t help but promote the spirit of Christmas when opportunities arise, and the chance to appear in the book was one that he decided not to pass up.
Somewhere along the line, Breiehagen had seen a picture of Fleskes in his Santa garb and, knowing the true Santa when he saw him, asked Fleskes to help with the photographs for the book.
"I did it just because it would be fun. If I could make something come across that would give a child a feeling that they were looking at the real Santa, that would be great. It was fun doing it," Fleskes said.
The process involved a full day of shooting near Minnehaha Creek. Fleskes and Anja, the main character in the book, shot a variety of scenes, and the photos were later combined with frozen landscapes and animal images captured by Breiehagen at different times.
No stranger to photo shoots, Fleskes enjoyed the process.
"It was more fun (than others I’ve done for catalogues and promotions)," he said. "I was able to move around and goof around more. When you’re doing catalogues they want a specific thing for you to show and hold. They don’t want you to move around too much until they get what they want."
Images of Fleskes and sled dogs were also taken for a future book, scheduled for publication in 2016.
"It’s a long process. They do the storyline, do lots of editing, and there’s only so many pages to work with," said Fleskes.
Mall man
Some skeptics might question whether Fleskes is the actual Santa, and in fact that is the whole point of his alternate identity, but his years of mall appearances were made easier by his extensive Santa wardrobe.
Fleskes owns four red Santa suits, about 15 different shirts, five or six vests, six or seven different pairs of suspenders, three bags for presents and numerous other accessories that lend legitimacy to his character.
"They’re all different because I had them custom-made," said Fleskes. "I started out small as Santa, and it just grew and grew because of everything I stuck into it."
While his rooftop sleigh rides are made in absolute secrecy, appearances at the mall allowed Fleskes the chance to meet with the public. Even for Santa, though, the month-long stretch between Thanksgiving and Christmas was a grind. He rose at 5 a.m. every day, spent two hours preparing, and then made a 12-hour appearance the mall each day, where some people waited up to three hours in line to get professional photographs of their kids with Santa.
"I’ve had two and three-day old babies, and I even had a mother come straight from the hospital with the hospital robe still on. The first thing she wanted to do was have a picture of the baby with Santa," said Fleskes. "The oldest child I’ve had was 98 years old. She said it was time for her to have her picture taken with the real Santa."
The meaning of Christmas
While some might imagine a struggle for attention between the key figures of Christmas, Fleskes isn’t shy when it comes to explaining what the holiday is all about.
"I want people to remember what Christmas is about. It’s about giving, the joy of giving. And also it’s about a birthday party, and I think people forget that," he said. "The reason I wanted to do this was to get across the reason for Christmas. Even though I was in a mall, I’d tell them that we’re celebrating baby Jesus’ birthday. I ran across some kids who did not even know who I was talking about."
One might expect that such a message could cause trouble at some point, but Fleskes informed the mall that if he was told to stop mentioning the Christian aspect of the holiday, the mall would have to find a different Santa.
There were never any problems, and Fleskes remained dedicated to spreading the word.
"I’d tell them every time, somehow, without trying to be too obvious about it," he said.
Where to find the book
With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror, area residents looking to get into the spirit of Christmas can seek out "The Christmas Wish" at Barnes and Noble or online at amazon.com or randomhouse.com.
As for Fleskes, he’s looking forward to another trip around the globe in another month’s time. Why did he decide to become Santa in the first place?
"As a young Santa my hair was red and it turned white, so I just decided it would be fun," said Fleskes. "It would be something that I would never have to retire from."
Never retire? Hopeful children around the world are counting on that.