PITTSBURGH — In the days leading up to Christmas Eve, when he will take his yearly flight around the world, Santa Claus met with Channel 11 at the PPG Place ice rink to share a little bit about himself and his love for Pittsburgh.
Santa said he has been coming down to the city before his big night because he likes to try to build Christmas spirit.
“It’s just wonderful. I get a great feeling here and so for the past, oh I’d say about 11 years or so, I’ve been coming down here before Christmas,” Santa said.
The big red man said he has been on the job for hundreds of years. While he now flies around the world with magical reindeer he says his beginnings were much humbler.
“I started out with just a horse and a sleigh, said Santa. “I’ve just kind of put it together as I’ve gone. 1752 years really kind of gets you in the mood,” Santa said.
Since his days with the horse, Santa has come a long way. He says he now runs everything on magic and Pittsburgh is a place where he can find a lot of it, making it one of his favorite stops in the world.
“Everything operates on magic and Christmas spirit is very important. Kindness is a big part of Christmas spirit so usually when I get into Pittsburgh on Christmas Eve, I am flying high,” said Santa.
With all of the nice features Santa appreciates about the city, there are unfortunately also some people in the city who are on the naughty list. When Channel 11 asked him who was on it he gave a hearty chuckle and decided not to share where he would be delivering coal.
“Ho ho ho, well I don’t discuss the naughty list,” Santa said. “I think the thing about Pittsburgh is that everybody wants to do their best. I think everybody has a good heart.”
Santa says he is very excited to visit the children in Pittsburgh. He said they are some of his favorite in the world because of their authentic excitement, love and kindness but says if they want him to stop by they will need to be in bed when he gets there.
“Bedtimes are very important to my operation,” Santa said. “I’m not saying go right to sleep. You might want to listen for, maybe a little jingle bell, maybe some paws on the roof -you could do that - but go to bed. Just close your eyes because I do not come if you are not in bed with your eyes closed and if I think you might get out of bed the gig is up.
Santa says if you go to bed and you have been nice this year he might have something special on his sleigh for you and your family.
“There’s a lot of Black and Yellow that gets in my bag when I come down to Pittsburgh,” Santa said.
Santa will be taking off Sunday night so be sure to have stockings and cookies prepared for his arrival.
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