HOUSTON-For two months of the year, Houston aircraft mechanic Lance McLean trades in his coveralls at the end of the day for a red Santa suit.
The Houston Chronicle reports this year McLean will don the suit 49 times, beginning Saturday. Twenty-nine of those events will be held at Houston public libraries.
"My ex-wife thought I'd make a good Santa Claus, so she started researching it back in 2007," McLean, 57, said. "I'd played Santa for a friend at his church, so I knew what to expect."
Internet research led to Lone Star Santas, a local nonprofit based in Cypress. The group includes some 350 Santa Clauses, Mrs. Clauses and elves who work throughout Texas. Members network, socialize and organize special events for disaster-stricken areas.
"Once you play Santa Claus, you fall in love with it," said Jim Fletcher, who co-founded the group in 2007. "Not many people can walk into a room and brighten it up like Santa Claus."
McLean's first paid appearance occurred at a holiday party for ChemLawn, the precursor to TruGreen.
"I got an 86-year-old grandma to get out of her sit-down stroller and come sit on my lap," McLean said. "All of her grandkids freaked out. They freaked out even more when I gave her a 'reindeer ride' and bounced her on my knee."
McLean made eight appearances that first year and earned about $1,000. This year he expects to earn 10 times that amount. He charges between $125 and $175 per event, based on the location. He mainly works in communities from Conroe, north of Houston, down to Galveston.
McLean tries to limit his appearances to 30 or 35 a year, on top of his 40-hour workweek. When disaster strikes, he also volunteers his time through Lone Star Santas.
Portraying the world's most famous figure can be costly. McLean buys a new custom-made wool Santa suit every few years. His current suit cost $2,000.
"I'm on my fourth one," McLean said. "When kids slide off my lap, it pulls the wool, and it'll get threadbare."
Santa's costume also includes leather boots, to the tune of $500. McLean doesn't have to worry about a fake beard, since he stopped shaving in 1975. He dyes his beard white come the holidays.
To hone his Santa skills, McLean also attended "Santa school." The two-day program included information on everything from filing income taxes to buying insurance. He carries a $2 million insurance policy, in case a tot takes a tumble from his lap.
One of McLean's favorite gigs is a volunteer appearance at Texas Children's Hospital each year.
"I visited a girl in the ICU who asked if I could make her better for Christmas," McLean said, his eyes welling with tears. "I said that wasn't up to me, but I'd pray with her. The nurse told me later that she finally smiled after I left."
The No. 1 question McLean hears from children is more a quiz than a question. They ask him where they live, to test whether he's really Santa Claus.
"I'll say something silly like '123 ABC,' " McLean said. "When they disagree, I'll say, 'But that's your rooftop address. I can't drive my sleigh down your street, so I have to check the address on your roof. One mom told me her son actually got the ladder out to see if there was a number on his roof."