Even before he put on the red suit, Adam Woodworth had the heart of Santa.
“There is something about Christmas which is kindness and happiness. With COVID-19 last year and this year, people are looking for that bright spot,” he said.
The 50-year-old Lockport resident has been the executive director of the Children’s Museum in Oak Lawn for 16 years, but in December he also delights kids in his other role, portraying Santa Claus.
“Being able to see the joy and happiness that a child has when they see Santa is amazing, so I wanted to bring that to more children,” Woodworth said.
His Santa look started several years ago has he prepared to portray an entirely different character for a May 4 Star Wars Casino Night fundraiser for the museum.
“I decided I was going to grow out a little beard,” he said. “Buying Jedi robes and a light saber, I wanted to go as Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
Be it a Star Wars character or Christmas icon, getting into character, is easy for Woodworth, who also is a board member of the Lockport Limestone Community Theatre in Lockport.
“My wife Krista suggested I grow out my beard even longer,” Woodworth said. “I didn’t know it was going to come out all white, but it did.”
Two months after the Star Wars event he looked more like Santa than Obi-Wan Kenobi. Around the same time a friend told him the Santa she hired for her business retired.
“She said, ‘I need a Santa, would I be interested?'” Woodworth said.
It was a life-changing moment.
“Next thing I know, I began to get calls,” he said. “I get a call from the village of Alsip asking me to be Santa for Holiday on Pulaski. That was my first professional gig as Santa and it snowballed from there.
“Two jobs became 10, 10 became 15. Once I got a call for the 20th job, I was like I need to buy my own suit and figure this out.”
Woodworth became Santa Adam, and learned Santa needs insurance and an agent.
“I’ve run the Oak Lawn Children’s Museum, I know how to run a nonprofit, now I have to learn how to be Santa Claus,” he said.
He became a member of Worldwide Santa Claus Network, a support organization for Santa Claus portrayers. He also became a member of the International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas.
By the end of his first year as Santa, he’d had 63 jobs.
In his second year, portraying Santa became entirely different, thanks to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I had to buy a gaming computer, a green screen and lighting to do virtual Santa visits as ‘Live from the North Pole,'” Woodworth said. “Going into homes was not an option.”
He was able to fit in some in-person Santa visits when neighborhoods would hire him.
“Families couldn’t take their kids to the mall to see Santa. They weren’t interested in Santa behind the shield. So I decided to do outside visits,” Woodworth said.
On one occasion last year, a group of families in a neighborhood hired Santa Adam and he went go door-to-door handing out presents.
This year, Woodworth has been hired for home visits, parties and events. And it’s not just for children. Michelle and Ed Kerfin hired Santa Adam for a veteran’s event at Blueberry Hill Café in Homer Glen.
“The veterans perked up when he came in,” said Michelle Kerfin, who has known Woodworth for several years. “This year I saw him post a photo of him as Santa on social media, so I know I needed to call him. He’s the real deal. The veterans just loved him.”
One of Santa Adam’s gimmicks is what he calls the “naughty or nice button.”
“The veterans really enjoyed his naughty or nice tool, making fun of each other if the light turned yellow,” Kerfin said. “It as so nice to see the veteran’s enjoying themselves with Santa. He is so authentic, he has a natural spirit. When you think of Santa being a good person, Adam plays the part so well because he is naturally a kind person and knows how to handle people of all ages.”
It’s a valuable skill as some children’s Christmas lists aren’t topped by toys. Woodworth has heard wishes from kids who want their parents to get back together, or for a classmate to stop bullying them.
“I had a home visit with a boy this year, he didn’t want to tell me what he wanted for Christmas,” Woodworth said. “He finally leaned over and whispered in my ear, he wanted this other boy to stop picking on him at school.
“Most people think the holiday is about LOL Dolls, Legos, trucks and trains. It’s not. … Another request I got this year was ‘I want my mommy and daddy to stop fighting.’ Kids will say things like this to Santa. They are impacted.”
Another time, he got to experience what he called a Christmas miracle. A girl at a library event “had some speech issues and was scared of Santa,” he said, so he caught her attention from across the room.
“I walked over to her and she was holding a ”Twas the Night Before Christmas’ book,” he said. “I squat down and told her she was holding my favorite book. She opens up the book and begins to talk to me, I stand up and notice her mother was crying. Her mother told me she doesn’t talk like that to anyone.”
It was a situation he could connect with, as and his wife have a son with special needs.
“Having a child myself with cerebral palsy, I understand the struggles the families go through,” he said.
Woodworth said Santa has some advice for everyone this season.
“There isn’t enough joy in the world,” he said. “I tell everyone go do something nice for somebody — one thing a day. I don’t care if it’s holding the door at the store for someone or when you’re in traffic, let the other person go. Make a positive difference in the life for other people. Be kind.”
Having the opportunity to become Santa Claus has been a dream come true, Woodworth said, and it’s a way too inspire his own kids too.
“I told my children, keep chasing your dreams, you might just catch one,” he said.
Mary Compton is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
