I've been a professional Santa for 17 years. Here are the naughty and not-so-nice things that have happened on my lap.

Wed, 12/13/2023 - 13:05

Michael Mele, dressed as Santa, poses with his niece on his lap at Macy's. He is also shown without his costume on vacation in Rome. — Michael Mele hard at work at Macy's and on a recent vacation funded by his holiday work in Europe.
Courtesy of Michael Mele

Michael Mele has been a professional Santa for 17 years.
He worked at Macy's flagship on New York's 34th Street for 14 of them. He started as an elf.
He's been pooped on by a toddler and propositioned by a mom who said she wanted sex for Christmas.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Michael Mele. It has been edited for length and clarity.

My background is in theater, and in October 2007, one of the performers I was working with told me that Macy's was looking for Santas. "Why not?" I thought.