In any other circumstance, you might find having an intimate holiday dinner with a man with a long, white beard who wears strikingly unfashionable red winter attire an uncomfortable and dangerous occasion. And your parenting skills might be suspect if you insisted on bringing your youngsters to a meal with the man with the strange laugh who declares rather serenely that he lives in the northern most region of the Arctic Circle.

At Golden Golf & Equestrian Club, we find dinner with Santa Claus a joyous occasion – especially for the youngsters and the young at heart.

Dinner with Santa is Dec. 11 and 18 at Knickers. A special children’s menu is available. Reservations are requested.

Knicker’s Lunch is served 10:30 a.m. – 3 p.m., every day but Monday.

Knicker’s Dinner is served 3 p.m. – 9 p.m., Tuesday – Saturday; and 3 p.m. – 5 p.m., Sunday.

Call 352-402-4355 to make reservations or for more information.

Just Who is This Santa Person?

Let us now return to our favorite host and conveyor of merriment, Mr. Claus.

One of the premier sources for information on Santa’s personal lifestyle and inclinations is NorthPole.com, which delves into his personality, his character and his unusual history.

Santa’s tastes in food are basic – at least during his whirlwind globetrotting campaign in late December. His most favorite food, obviously, is cookies, Santa analysts conjecture. While his culinary predilections are certainly unique compared to standard American fare, his preferences resemble closely those of his most favorite people, the children.

While some health experts say Santa has an aversion to broccoli and green beans, most authorities agree that Santa finds venison (reindeer) burger particularly repulsive.

For all that delightful consumption of glucose-elevating sugar cookies the world over, Santa’s diet definitely isn’t the most ideal. Health experts suggest Santa wouldn’t need quite as big a red suit if it weren’t for the tens of millions of cookies he consumes on Dec. 24 and 25. (Santa’s reindeer enjoy carrots and sugar cubes.)

Although Santa has repeatedly refused to disclose his weight publicly, fitness experts say Santa stays in tip-top shape for a man in his early one-thousand, seven hundred and forties. In fact, some local fitness enthusiasts have insisted they spotted Santa in disguise moving briskly along on one of Golden Ocala’s Fitness Club tread mills.

While Santa’s fashion tastes may lean sharply to the eccentric side, he relies almost exclusively on the talents and nimble fingers of Mrs. Claus. She sews his classic, bright red attire, making sure it fits his dimensions perfectly.

Some psychologists believe Santa’s robust laughter originated from him having to stand still for long periods while Mrs. Claus measured his arms and growing tummy to make his suit fit properly. Anonymous sources in the North Pole, who aren’t authorized to speak on Santa’s behalf, said he is ticklish.

Mrs. Claus is reported to have said her choice of red for Santa’s suit is to help reduce the possibility of his getting lost in the white snow. His North Pole Frosty-Weather-Reader-Meter – technologically similar to GPS, but much more advanced – helps guide Santa on Christmas Eve.

Santa’s extracurricular inclinations vary. He loves games; he experiments – at length – with many of the new toys he gives to children. He chose the North Pole manufacturing site centuries ago for its remote location and isolation.

Santa scoffs at his skeptics who argue against his existence. Although he said he refuses to debate his existence in public forums or battle his opponents on his apparently elusive and reclusive habits in the press, he said he exists only for those who truly believe.

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