Thanks for your stories, PoppaG, the insights are wonderful (and folks, if you click on that link he provided above, you'll be able to see pictures of him in action)!

I've always wondered: with the young children, do you think the fear/shyness they show is the same that they'd show to every stranger, or is there a special aura around Nicholas that makes them more shy?
---

Several years ago, we were snowed in for 3 weeks, and, not having to go out "Into the World," my father let his beard grow out for the first time in his adult life... after the snow was cleared, he decided, since he was retired, not to ever shave it again. It's a bushy (but not long) beard, and he has noticed that people are often friendlier to him now than when he was a clean-shaven man... I definitely think there is a Santa Factor going on...