Dec 3, 2012

Arguably, Santa’s busiest day is December 24, while he packs up his sleigh and flies around distributing toys to the world’s good little girls and boys. As for the other 364 days of the year, you may have been told that Santa is back in his North Pole workshop directing elves on the creation of new gizmos, gadgets and whatchamacallits that will appear on the wish lists of said girls and boys next Christmas. So, it may surprise you to find out that Santa has an interest in a diverse array of activities he tends to throughout the year, and not always under the guise of holiday promotion. And not always as a singular male person.

: Santa makes his grand entrance at Harbor Place on November 19, 2010. (Monica Lopossay/Baltimore Sun)

: A participant in the wakeboard-Santa Claus contest slides over the ice in the eastern town of Grossbeeren, Germany on December 4, 2005. (Michael Urban/AFP/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: BER022

: People dressed as Santa arrive at the Asgard Pub for SantaCon Boston 2010, a gathering of people dressed as Santas going from bar to bar, in Cambridge, Massachusetts December 18, 2010. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)

: Santas from all parts of the world take part in the traditional foot bath on July 23, 2012 at Bellevue Beach north of Copenhagen. The bath marks the beginning of the annual World Santa Claus Congress, which ran through July 26, 2012. (Casper Christoffersen/AFP/GettyImages)

: Nikolai Vasilyev water-skis while dressed as Santa Claus along the Yenisei River outside Russia’s Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk December 22, 2011. Vasilyev, 58, a teacher of the Krasnoyarsk Aerospace College, constructed the self-made water skis to travel on the water surface. The skis are made of plastic foam and the sticks are designed to propel him forward. (Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

: A worker dressed as Santa Claus pumps fuel into a car at a gasoline station in Indonesia city of Tangerang, ahead of Christmas December 23, 2010. (Beawiharta/Reuters)

: An Israeli soldier tackles a Palestinian protester dressed as Santa Claus or Father Christmas during at a protest against Israel’s separation barrier in the village of Umm Salamunah near the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem, 21 December 2007. Israeli guards beat five demonstrators, including one dressed as Father Christmas, during a protest today against Israel’s separation barrier in the West Bank, organisers said. (Musa Al-Shaer/AFP/Getty Images)

: A man dressed as Santa Claus sits along a street with other people as they wait for the release of Apple’s new iPad mini in front of the Apple Store Ginza in Tokyo November 1, 2012. (Toru Hanai/Reuters)

: Students dressed in Santa Claus costumes perform as part of their Christmas celebrations in their school in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh on December 20, 2011. (Ajay Verma/Reuters)

: Santa (Domonic Salamone), who normally work at the Salvation Army but hired temprary as santa here since he can skate, was one of the attractions of the opening of the new ice rink over at Harbor Point on December 20, 2003. (Chiaki Kawajiri/Baltimore Sun)

: Santa Claus stands next to a sand sculpture outside Harrods Department Store to promote the new Christmas section on August 05, 2008 in London, England. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

: Dressed as Santa Clause, Andrew Levine plays with a cat at The Humane Society on December 6, 2008 in Owings Mills, Maryland. The Humane Society was having an open house where participants could bring pets and children for photos with Santa. (Heidi Heimsal/Patuxent Publishing)

: A German Bundeswehr army soldier with the Delta platoon of the 2nd paratroop company 373 wearing a Santa Claus costume stands atop an armoured vehicle before leaving the army camp for a mission in Kunduz, northern Afghanistan, December 6, 2010. (Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters)

: A man dressed as Santa Claus holds a flare as he wakeboards at a water ski set on a small lake in Hamburg December 5, 2010. (Christian Charisius/Reuters)

: A Palestinian demonstrator dressed in a Santa Claus costume stands near a teargas canister fired by Israeli troops during a protest against the controversial Israeli barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin near Ramallah December 24, 2010. (Mohamad Torokman/Reuters)

: Santa performers line up at a phone box in Leicester Square on November 13, 2008 in London. Santa performers attended the Odeon Cinema in Leicester Square to watch a new film entitled ‘Santa School: The Film.’ (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

: Ride-On bus drivers organize to donate toys to the children of Conrad Johnson, who was killed by the snipers in October, on December 19, 2002. From left: Denise Johnson, widow, Montgomery County Exec. Doug Duncan, Braxton Wiggins, a Ride-On bus driver as Santa, and Trina Young, Denise’s sister; in the foreground is DeVohn (cq), 6, Johnson’s youngest son. (André F. Chung)

: Waikiki Beach surfing instructor John Kepoo wears a Santa hat as he paddles out to the waves at sunrise on Christmas morning in Honolulu, December 25, 2011. (Jason Reed/Reuters)

: Capt. Jeremy Fisher (Santa) and his wife, Sarah, were in the Christmas spirit as they finished the 5K Reindeer Run with their children, Jeremiah (left), 1, and Sophia, 5. (Phil Grout/Patuxent Publishing)

: Anna Schwengel, left, from Lutherville, offers her conductor’s hat to Santa (aka Dave Baines) after his headwear fell off. Amused by the folley, Carrie Couch, sitting with her Dad, Keith, both from Roland Park, lets outs some giggles during a holiday trolley ride as part of the Baltimore Street Car Museum’s Tinsel Trolley holiday event where museum goers learned about the history of the street cars in Baltimore with a holiday flare Saturday December 18, 2005. (Matt Roth/Patuxent Publishing)

: Santa takes some time from his hectic schedule to enjoy a ride with his helpers from the Harford/Cecil Harley Owners Group and spread some Christmas cheer to families on the group’s Secret Santa gift delivery run. (Matt Button/Patuxent Publishing)

: A man dressed as Santa Claus and a woman dressed as mythical creature Krampus travel in a tram decorated with Christmas lights in the centre of Budapest December 3, 2010. (Laszlo Balogh/Reuters)

: Finland’s Tanja Poutiainen (L) celebrates her second place finish with a man dressed as Santa Claus after the second run of the women’s slalom at the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Levi in Kittila November 10, 2012. (Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva/Reuters)

: Artists dressed in Santa Claus costumes stand after creating a sand sculpture of Santa Claus as part of Christmas celebrations on a beach in Puri, located in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, December 24, 2011. (Stringer/Reuters)

: Santa’s helpers, Bart Viguers, left, and Dan Kestler, center, carrying a boom box playing Christmas tunes, while accompanying friend Jason Toraldo, dressed as Santa, right, along Fort Avenue to deliver a Christmas tree in Locust Point on December 11, 2011. Jason Toraldo delivers Christmas trees and pulled pork sandwiches, and for local deliveries from his Federal Hill home he travels by bicycle. His business is called Pork-n-Pine. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)

: A worker wearing a Santa Claus attire has his pants bitten by a crocodile during feeding time inside a cage of a crocodile farm in Manila December 16, 2011. The Philippines, a mainly Roman Catholic country in Southeast Asia, celebrates one of the longest Christmas holiday in the world, playing Christmas carols in shopping malls in September and putting up lantern and fireworks early in December. (Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)

: Postmen dressed as Santa Claus ride on their delivery motorbikes during an event to begin their Christmas season service at the Central Post Office in Seoul, South Korea on December 13, 2010. (Kim In-Cheol/Newsis/Reuters)

: A bungee jumper dressed as Santa Claus leaps from a platform above Kuta beach, Denpasar on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali on December 2, 2011. (Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP/Getty Images) ORG XMIT:

: A student dressed up as Santa Claus dances with other students during a Christmas celebration at a school in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh December 23, 2010. (Ajay Verma/Reuters)

: A scuba diver dressed as Santa Claus hand feeds a grey nurse shark at Oceanworld by Sydney Harbour on December 16, 2011. The popular aquarium has Australia’s largest collection of the critically endangered grey nurse sharks which are referred to as the ‘Labradors of the sea.’ (Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty Images)

: Ravens fans, including many dressed as Santa, cheer on Baltimore as they beat Cleveland 20-14. Baltimore Ravens vs. the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium on December 24, 2011. (Gene Sweeney Jr./Baltimore Sun)

: Door Gunner Petty Officer Richard Symonds of the Royal Navy wears a Santa Claus outfit as he delivers mail and presents to troops around Helmand province in this handout released by Britain’s Ministry of Defence December 25, 2010. (Sgt Rupert Frere RLC/Crown Copyright/Handout/Reuters)

: Santa, played by Rick Dempsey, high-fives the children in between Christmas songs with the Orioles Bird on December 9, 2009. First graders from Lakeland E.S. were invited to the ESPN Zone at the Inner Harbor for a holiday party with Orioles players, past and present. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)

: A competitor dressed up as Santa Claus jumps into the sea during the 102nd Barcelona Traditional Christmas Swimming Cup at the Old Harbour of Barcelona on December 25, 2011 in Barcelona, Spain. Launched in 1908, the Copa Nadal is organised by the Barcelona Swimming Club and has only been suspended three times, in 1936, 1937, and 1938, because of the Spanish Civil War. (David Ramos/Getty Images)

: Santa Claus, played by Joe Marks of Ellicott City, directs runners participating in the 6th Annual Reindeer Run in memory of Tom Lisenmeyer at the West Laurel Community Building in Laurel, Maryland, on November 24, 2007. (Jason Fritz/Patuxent Publishing)

: Jim Stavropoulos as Santa Claus and his elfin assistant Amber Stevens try to encourage passsing motorists to stop for the free toy giveaway at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church Friday afternoon. The ‘Friends of Jim Stavropoulos Outreach Center’ at the church held a Santa visit combined with a toy giveaway on December 17, 2005. (Francis Gardler/Patuxent Publishing)

: Estonian Santa Claus ‘Santa Aare’ (L), Dutch Santa Claus ‘Santa Holland’ (C) and Swedish Santa Claus ‘Snaretomten’ compete in the Kicksled Sack Race during the Santa Clause Winter Games in Gallivare, above the polar circle in northern Sweden on November 17, 2012. (Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images)

: Santa Claus, aka Paul Herwit, a Continental Airlines employee, assists passengers with using the electronic ticket check-in on December 22, 2000 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Linda Coan/Baltimore Sun)

: Ramiro Hinojas, 47, a traffic enforcer, wears a Santa Claus costume as he directs traffic along a main street in Pasay city, metro Manila November 22, 2012. Hinojas entertains motorists along Manila’s heavily congested main thoroughfare by dressing up as Santa Claus and performing dance moves of pop star Michael Jackson, to mark the upcoming Christmas season. (Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)

: People take part in a half naked ‘Santa run’ in Budapest on December 12, 2010. (Bernadett Szabo/Reuters)

: Larry Budd dressed as Santa visits Homer A. Sander, a patient at Shock Trauma on December 23, 2002. Budd almost died after a jet skiing accident seven years ago, but doctors at Shock Trauma saved his life, and the Laurel man has been going back every Christmas dressed as Santa. (Jerry Jackson

: Santa Claus poses with a Beluga Whale at SeaWorld San Diego on December 15, 2011 in San Diego, California. (Mike Aguilera/SeaWorld San Diego via Getty Images)

: Santa Claus (right), also known as Jim Keithly, watches as Leah Freeman, 8, of St. Charles, takes aim with a laser air rifle game in Santa’s Wonderland at Bass Pro Shops in St. Charles, Missouri on November 13, 2012. (Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/MCT)

: Rigoberto Martinez, 63, dressed as Santa Claus, casts his vote during municipal elections in Valparaiso city, about 121 km (75 miles) northwest of Santiago, October 28, 2012. Martinez said he has dressed as Santa Claus in all elections since Chile’s return to democracy in 1990 from the 17-year dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. (Eliseo Fernandez/Reuters)

: Kerry Madrid, from Catonsville, Maryland, takes a fall with her son, Nicholas Madrid, 7, while her daughter, Julia Madrid, 4, holds Santa’s hand during ‘Skating with Santa’ at the Dominic ‘Mimi’ DiPietro Family Skating Center on December 17, 2011. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)

: Santa greets children of all ages at the Annapolis City Dock. Al Hopkins, white-haired, blue-eyed and beardless, portrayed Jolly Old St. Nick in a tour around Annapolis on Friday after the city’s fire boat delivered him to the City Dock on November 23, 2001. (Jed Kirschbaum/Baltimore Sun)

: A window cleaner dressed as Santa Claus poses for photographers during an event to celebrate the upcoming Christmas holiday season at a shopping mall in Tokyo December 23, 2011. (Toru Hanai/Reuters)

: Competitors dressed as Santa Claus take part in the annual 5 kilometre Santa Dash in Liverpool, northern England December 5, 2010. (Phil Noble/Reuters)

: A man dressed as Santa Claus walks past two security guards in downtown Shanghai December 23, 2010. Officially recognized by the Finland government after a four-year training, the man is one of 50 officially registered Santa Clauses who is paying a visit to Shanghai, warming up the Christmas holidays. (Aly Song/Reuters)

: A homeless man dressed up as Santa Klaus looks at his dog in the Champs-Elysees in Paris on December 22, 2010 in Paris. (Joel Sagel/AFP/Getty Images)

: Santa Claus stands amongst several families as they all check out the Fire Museum of Maryland’s holiday train garden in Lutherville on Saturday, November 24, 2012. The new O-scale train garden is based off a 1950’s theme and features various iconic Baltimore-area structures. (Brian Krista/Patuxent Publishing)

: Gondolier Paolo Agostino, dressed as Santa Claus, crosses the famous Italian lagoon in front of the San Giorgio Maggiore island, December 2, 2005 in Venice. (Manuel Silverstri/AFP/Getty Images)

: Green Santa, Michael Pritchard, wearing a crown of mistletoe and holly, walks among this year’s crop of mistletoe at the annual Tenbury Wells Mistletoe Auction, on November 29, 2011 in Tenbury Wells, England. Ancient druids believed mistletoe had magical properties because of the way it grows, never touching the ground and without taking nourishment from the earth. Tenbury Wells has been the traditional mistletoe capital for over 150 years. Druids blessed this year’s crop before buyers put their bids in for the festive plant. The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe at Christmas comes from the belief that mistletoe aids fertility. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

: An salesman dressed up as Santa Claus holds a printer cartridge with a free onion bag offered for the purchase of a printer ink cartridge, to attract customer in a shop in Kolkata, India, on December 24, 2010. (Deshakalyan Chowdhury/AFP/Getty Images)

: Buskers dressed up in Santa Claus suits perform in the downtown section of Sydney on December 23, 2010. (Amy Coopes/AFP/Getty Images)

: A diver clad in a Santa Claus costume welcomes visitors to an aquarium at Kaiyukan in Osaka on November 19, 2009. (Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images)

: Anna Lawson (left), 9, playing an elf while jumping rope with Santa played by Max Gleichauf, 15. The Kangaroo Kids holiday hop with jumping Santa was held at the Gary J. Arthur Community Center in Cooksville on December 11, 2010. (Nate Pesce/Patuxent Publishing)

: ‘Water-Skiing Santa’ cruises on the Potomac River December 24, 2009 in National Harbor, Maryland. This is the 22nd anniversary of the aquatic Christmas show. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

: Santa feeds Smiley the penguin as they help open Harrods Christmas World during a photocall on August 4, 2009 in London, England. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

: Actress Heidi Montag (left), Santa Claus and Spencer Pratt (right) participate in Juma Entertainment’s 17th Annual Deer Valley Celebrity Skifest presented by Paul Mitchell and benefitting Robert F. Kennedy’s Waterkeeper Alliance at the Empire Canyon Lodge on December 7, 2008 in Deer Valley, Utah. (Michael Buckner/Getty Images)

60 ‘outta his sleigh’ Santa snapshots

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