Call Him Santa Nick: The Veteran Brining Christmas to Life
There’s no mistaking him. In his bright red suit, thick black buckle and beard as white as snow, the legend of Santa Claus is a tradition widely cherished by millions around the world.
But Santa doesn’t always just fly with reindeer. Before Nick Casey ever donned the red suit, he was a munitions systems specialist in the U.S. Air Force. What began as a favor to a friend quickly turned into a deep passion for spreading holiday joy to kids of all ages. Today, Nick is more committed to being Santa than ever, with years of training under his belt and a real beard to prove it. To him, being Santa is about much more than just wearing a costume—it’s about ensuring that everyone who meets him leaves with a smile on their face.
From Pole to Pole
When he was younger, Nick dreamed of being an astronaut. “As a child in the 70s I always wanted to be an astronaut, only I wasn’t great in school,” he shared. He figured that the closest he could get to his dream was enrolling in the U.S. Air Force. He began as a munitions systems specialist where he worked on explosives. Nick enjoyed his job and was deployed several times, visiting Antarctica and even the North Pole. I’m probably one of the few Santas that have been above the parallels for the North and the South pole,” said Nick. He was offered the opportunity to cross train, which allows a person to learn new skills and take on different roles within the Air Force, he accepted. He was assigned to the Stratton Air National Guard Base and was a hydraulic systems mechanic on C-130s. From there, Nick became a supervisor for the help desk at the base. During this time, he began working on computers in his free time and found he enjoyed that work. After leaving the military, he worked as a contractor for about a year before getting a job at the N.Y.S. Office of the State Comptroller. Today, he works as a manager for the information security management team ensuring information security management automations can come into fruition to help them do their job.
A Serendipitous Santa
In 2013, Nick received a call from Nel Deidel who needed a favor. The Santa for the Lights in the Park in Albany, N.Y. had cancer and they didn’t have a replacement. Nick was already having a tough holiday season, as his mom had recently passed the year prior. “My mom had passed, just at her birthday in December of 2012, so it wasn’t going to be a good Christmas morning,” explained Nick. However, despite his disinterest in dressing up as Santa, Nick agreed to help his friend. Nel lent Nick everything he needed, including the red suit and even a fake beard. The first people to approach Nick was a little girl and her mom, and this experience has stayed with Nick to this very day. “This little girl looked up at me in such awe, and I just saw the joy that it gave the mom and her,” he shared. After the event, Nick called Nel who was not surprised to hear that he wasn’t ready to retire the red suit. “I don’t know what it was but he knew,” said Nick.
Crafting the Perfect Claus
After that experience, Nick dedicated himself to learning all that he could to become a better Santa. He has attended the International University of Santa Claus, Santa Camp, several Christmas performers workshops, storytelling classes, and more. Additionally, he is a member of the worldwide Santa Claus network. He has even committed to the role by growing out his beard and is a member of the International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas. All of this information allows him to be able to answer even the toughest questions that a child may ask. “I can go toe to toe and tell a child why Rudolph’s nose is really red, I can give him the exact path I take when I travel around the world on Christmas eve,” explained Nick. Additionally, he learns what many other Santas in the world say, so their answers remain consistent. “The training has given me so much. It does give me the knowledge, and also gives me the networking because there are people who have so much more knowledge and experience than I do and I’ll always be in awe of them,” shared Nick, “It’s a fantastic community and I am a better person for it, I’ve learned a lot from everybody.”
Spreading Joy Across Generations
He is surrounded by people who support his passion and love for being Santa including his wife. “My wife does not want to be Mrs. Claus which is fine, I’m kind of thankful because she does everything else in the background and I don’t think I could do it if she was Mrs. Claus. She is Mrs. Claus but not taking the moniker,” explained Nick. His current job also understands how important being Santa is to Nick and they allow him the flexibility he needs with his schedule. “There was a caveat that if I took this position they would give me broad leeway to take time to be Santa,” said Nick. He even works as the Santa for the Toys for Tots at the comptroller’s office. While the Lights in the Park event no longer exists, Nick stays busy attending different gatherings all over Glens Falls, at the Stuyvesant Plaza, different day cares, the Palace Theater, and nursing homes. He meets people of all different ages, but sees the child in all of them. “I consider them all children really because when you come up to Santa that’s how you feel,” shared Nick, “There’s so many things that I’ve learned and it brings joy to everybody no matter if they’re eight months or eighty eight years there’s a child in everyone.”
Spreading joy is what motivates Nick to continue being Santa, and he finds himself lucky to be in this unique position. “For anyone to give someone joy, especially in this day and age can be tough, and to be able to do that with just a look or how you look is awesome and can be a huge responsibility too,” he said. He knows how memorable meeting Santa can be for someone so he tries to make every experience positive and memorable for all. “I go into every encounter with every child and every parent thinking to myself I am privileged,” said Nick, “I may not know it, when they do it, but they will at some point pull out that picture and they will smile and they’ll remember what kind of time they had and that’s why I try to make every single one, every single visit, special.” Nick plans on being Santa until he can physically no longer continue. For him, there is no better way to spread Christmas cheer and show everyone, young and old, the true joy of the holiday season. For more information about Santa Nick and how you can book him, visit his website: https://www.santanickc.com/fbclid=IwY2xjawHFsolleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHbc0nEJt9IJLS3-2KaqVUWjU25Ff_awcim1yuvIBuMcARjF_QZuzlmXfow_aem_FYxzMxU1_uMMlpRqmoJWwQ.