Trainee Santas learn sign language so ‘all children feel included’ at Christmas

Father Christmas trainees preparing to host grottos across the UK have learned festive sign language at the 26th annual Santa school to make sure “all children feel included”.

More than 20 red and white-garbed recruits gathered at the London Postal Museum on Monday for Ministry of Fun’s annual Santa school, which provides a Saint Nicholas for outlets across the country including Harrods and Selfridges.

The Santas were taught a unique curriculum covering everything from delivering “Merry Christmas” greetings in multiple languages and mastering the perfect “Ho Ho Ho!” to sign language for terms such as “reindeer” and “what would you like for Christmas?”

Leading the course was Ministry of Fun director Matt Grist, a Santa specialist who has been training people in the art of being Father Christmas for the likes of Selfridges since 1998.

“I think it’s important that Father Christmas is a friend of every child that comes into the Grotto,” Mr Grist told the PA news agency.

“What we try to do is ensure that we’re always giving them new tools, new things that they can do, and of course this includes learning how to say Merry Christmas in different languages.

“And the extension of that is if someone who’s non-verbal comes into the grotto, it’s important that Father Christmas is able to communicate with them.”

Mr Grist says there is a misconception that it is easy to play Father Christmas but at Santa school they take the role very seriously.

“I think that Father Christmas is the first famous person that a child meets, and they believe totally that this gentleman exists and it’s our duty to make sure that that belief is realised when they meet them,” he said.

“It’s huge fun and incredibly rewarding but we take it really seriously because it’s about preserving the magic for that child.”

Trained elves put the Santas through their paces, including “Merry Berry”, who led sign language training.

“It’s really important that all children feel included, and that obviously includes children from the deaf community, or children that are non-verbal,” she told PA.

“We think it’s really important for the Ministry of Fun to educate our Santas and our elves with a little bit of basic sign language, so that if they do encounter children, which is more often than we realise, that they can make them feel included as well.

“I’ve been signing as an elf for three years now but there’s always more to learn.”

Over the last 26 years, Ministry of Fun has trained more than 500 Santas and elves.

The training covers all aspects of the role, including history, character, costume, beards, voice, make-up and role play.

Once the trainees have completed Santa school they are sent out to grottos up and down the country and can earn hundreds of pounds per day.

Ministry of Fun said: “Most bookings are in the low hundreds but some can be several thousand per day depending on the type of booking it is.”