Left: Gary Trimmer volunteers his time as Santa Claus for
organizations and groups during the holidays.
Right: Gary Trimmer and his
grandson, Andrew James Schafer.
Photos by Bob Chaphalkar
LANSING, MI — Ever wonder where Santa Claus lives when he is not bringing joy to children all over the country? Or maybe, you are walking through the grocery store in the middle of summer and see a familiar face. You can stop wondering why you are constantly running into Santa Claus and that is because he lives in your city. Gary Trimmer is delighted that he is the spitting image of Santa Claus.
Trimmer retired from organic greenhouse farming in December of 1998 and decided to work at a local home improvement store teaching classes. The job consumed most of Trimmer’s weekends and he decided that he wanted to spend more time with his wife, Pamela, and his 2 grandchildren. He has been happily married for 42 years. Trimmer believes in family and spends time with his grandchildren, 3-year-old, Braylon Wrightmore and 11-year-old, Andrew James Schafer. He sees his grandchildren daily and enjoys hobbies like taking them to watch horses on a farm. In the summer, they spend time at Hawk Island Park’s playground or watching airplanes fly out of Capital City Airport.
Trimmer is always giving back and 30 years ago a Boy Scouts Cub leader asked if he could be Santa at a troop event. He never looked back. Becoming Santa was easy for Trimmer because he says that he loves children.
He said, “Anyone can wear a red suit and bellow, “Ho-ho-ho!” but I love to see them smile.”
Trimmer said right after Thanksgiving he starts to wear red and white. His favorite place to go is Panera Bread in Frandor where he doles out smiles takes Christmas gift requests and buys a complimentary breakfast for anyone in a military uniform. He feels that those in uniform give so much that his token of appreciation is the least he can do.
Being Santa is not inexpensive as each suit costs over $600.00 and it costs $60.00 to clean one suit. To Trimmer it is worth it.
Trimmer laughed heartily and said, “I have traditional Santa and two long gowned suits and I wear a vest and pants under it… red and white of course. Everything is real, including my beard; I don’t need any extra padding! I fit my Santa outfits well.”
He volunteers at local schools for fundraisers, he lends a hand to put smiles on the faces of the less fortunate and reads Christmas stories to children. Trimmer’s long-standing love for being Santa is priceless, which is why he states that he doesn’t charge for his services.
The children are so excited when they see Santa especially when Trimmer goes to dinner with his wife.
He laughed, “Calms the kids down and I will say, “I am watching you to make sure you are being good boys and girls.” The children will change right before your eyes and the adults they love it.”
While Trimmer tries to make all of the children happy he said that he was most touched by a little girl who told him that all she wanted for Christmas is her mother, who had recently passed away.
He said, “I just let the spirit of God come through and help me when I get those types of requests. As Santa, you just give children answers from the heart when you cannot give them what they are asking for.”
So what does Trimmer do when he is not playing Santa Claus?
He does not have greenhouses any more but he loves to dabble in home beautification projects. So this summer if you see “Santa” playing in the dirt, make sure you get your Christmas list in early. No matter what time of year, Trimmer is tickled with being Santa. He said there are those of who have forgotten the magic of Christmas. Trimmer added with a wink a hearty “Ho-ho-ho!” that he will also let you know that Christmas is always right around the corner and he will be watching you.
This was printed in the December 4, 2011 – December 17, 2011 Edition
