Soul Behind The Whiskers
 From the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce Newsmagazine, January, 2000

What does the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce and The North Pole have in common? They both have the real Santa Claus. Our Santa gives us every year the most heartwarming, laughter-filled, and message-bringing performance we could have.

Mac Macdonald, who performs his 40 minute oxygen-depleting show at least 30 times each December then donates what he charges to charity, is a nationally recognized corporate trainer and speaker, and a long-time friend and member of our organization. Inheriting his creative one-of-a-kind show from his Father, he has carried on a tradition of "making people feel Christmas, not simply have Christmas."

"As are so many in West Seattle, my father was a giver, a participator, a community builder. He was the Superintendent of Parks and Recreation in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Las Vegas. After the fragmentation and racial divide caused by World War II, he came up with dozens of community-building programs from junior symphony orchestras to leadership skills courses, from minority inclusion programs to clown clubs, from cheerleading camps to day camps. The Santa performance was another brainchild. He died when I was eighteen years old. People realized that this portion of his creativity would die with him. Growing up I'd seen the show a hundred times. I said, What the heck! There's the suit, and there are the groups wanting it - the rest is history."

Mac is the President of the LYFE (Lighting Your Own Fuse) Enhancement Company. He sneaks in a portion of his motivationally therapeutic seminars during the show. After a rousing song-filled introduction, Mac has various audience members come up to be sleighbell-jangling reindeer in some hilarious skits. Then he quiets the room, has several people hold candles and allows everyone to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. As he says, "Santa means a lot more than the purchase and giving of gifts. We sometimes trivialize this mythical spirit by marrying him to commercialism. He certainly represents the idea of giving but Santa Claus also stands for community involvement, and enthusiasm, he stands for charity and caring, and for persistence and passion in order to overcome challenges. "This Santa teaches us that we are bigger than any of our obstacles."

Then, during the show, Mac, er, that is, Santa, even shows us the Jewish Yarmulke that he wears under his red hat, and under that an Islamic prayer hat to prove that Santa truly does represent all the Prophets and means everything to everybody.

Macdonald goes on to say, "It is this time of year that we need to reflect upon how well we have been getting along with others, or not getting along if that be the case. And reflect on how much passion are we continuing to give to our relationships, both at home and at work, as we once implied we would? Another form of gift giving is communication. How much have we been giving others the gift of listening to them? And when adversity and obstacles arise in our lives, and change occurs, how dedicated are we to finding the skills and showing the discipline necessary to conquer malaise? This Santa is sent to remind us to reflect on how much we have accomplished, rather than dwelling on those things we haven't."

Mr. MacSanta goes on to say, "Christmas is a time to ask ourselves how much patience we've shown, with others as well as ourselves, then change tack if need be. Santa is a jolly soul reminding us not to take life too seriously. As individuals we have much to offer - so go offer it. We (you) are just too powerful not to."

Mac then ends his show with the wildest gift-delivering trip you could ever experience. Everyone hangs on as we all participate in Santa's hilarious annual ride. Everyone becomes a child again and bonds to everyone else in the room. He then goes out in the same flurry of songs and bell jangling that accompanied him when he came in. "This unique Santa performance handed down to me by my father embeds the spirit of Christmas so that we don't lose the magic, the childlike curiosity and sense of adventure about what we can all discover." As he says, "This is the beginning of a new year. We can start out of the gate fresh and whole, leaving the past in the past". Mac Macdonald's Santa Claus performances remind us that we have that hope and that strength.

Thank-you, Santa Mac.