Metzger’s Santa journey began when he was a teenager and decided that he wanted to play Santa for his younger cousins. “They’re probably about, maybe 10 years younger and so I thought I’d like to play Santa for them,” he said.

His friend’s dad had a Santa suit which he agreed to loan to the teen-aged Metzger. After his first gig he was hooked on playing the jolly old elf. That was 46 years ago and Metzger is still going strong.

The year after that initial visit, Metzger left for college.

“We were having a dorm party, and the RA’s sent a letter home to our parents that they were having a Christmas party, and they wanted to know if each kid could be sent a Christmas present for the party,” he said.

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“I opened mine, and my mom had bought me my own Santa suit, and it’s the same suit I wear today. It’s in great shape,” he said.

“Then I saw that one of the department stores in Philadelphia needed a Santa for breakfast on Saturdays, so I went down. I got hired by them and I did that during that semester and I really enjoyed that,” he said.

He shared how children would give him lists of what they wanted for Christmas and he held onto them for years.

“It was just, I liked to read them each year. It puts a smile on your face, because, you know, the kids take time to write those lists and it’s neat seeing the different toys that they wanted,” he said.

When he came home on break from college that year, people here had heard that he was playing Santa.

“They’re like, ‘hey, can you come see my kid on Christmas Eve? So for probably about 20 years, I would go out as Santa on Christmas Eve, and the list continued to grow and grow and grow and it grew to where one year I did over 50 houses,” he said.

He shared that he would begin his journey about late mid-afternoon as it was starting to get dusk and then finish around midnight that year.

“I had a map where I would go to this part of town first and then move to the next part of town all the way down through the county, and I would always close the evening at my little league coach’s house. I would show up at his house close to midnight, and he and his wife and his kids…lived a block from me. That was a tradition. I always finished at their house, and they would look forward to that even as their kids had grown. I always stop and say hi to them to end the night,” he said.

So for years, people would have him play Santa at parties. He’d visit hospitals and nursing homes dressed as the jolly old elf. At this point he’s visiting the children of the children from those years.

“I’ve done second generations, where I’ve gone to people’s homes for their children all growing up and then once they have children, they’ve called me and said, hey can you come see my kids now,” Metzger said.

“That’s an honor to do that, to go back and not only see them as an adult, but then play Santa for their kids,” he added.

When Metzger talks about his visits to homes dressed as Santa, it’s obvious that he enjoys bringing the character to life as much as the children enjoy seeing him.

“A lot of times people will leave gifts out on the front porch. You know when you go to a person’s house, as Santa, you’ve got to park the sleigh far enough away, because a lot of times the kids will try to follow you, and you’ve got to make sure that you are incognito, so that you can lose them if they do follow you,” he explained. So Santa’s sleigh and the reindeer, which the kids often ask me about the reindeer, where the reindeer are at and I tell them, they’re down the street. They’re eating off the apple tree or I have to go down and get my sleigh to go to the next place,” he said.

“So you’ve got to put the sleigh far enough away, and then you’ve got to sneak up on the porch so no one’s looking out the window, so that you can put the presents that the parents leave outside-you’ve got to shove them in your bag and you’ve got to do that quiet enough that no one hears you. You’ve got to be light on your feet,” he continued.

“Then you get the gifts in the bag, and then you start knocking on that front door, and you start chuckling with the ‘Ho, Ho Ho’s.’ And then as those little kids come running down the corridor, the hallway, and they see you, their eyes lay up like saucers, and their mouths drop to the floor, and they’re so excited to see the man in the red suit. And then you go in, you know by name, you know the families and you talk about good times and things like that and they’re just, ‘how does Santa know that? How does Santa know that,” he said.

One of his favorite things to ask the children is if they’re brushing their teeth, praising their nice smiles.

“I’m sure the dentistry profession enjoys me making sure that the kids brush their teeth,” he said.

He also checks to see if they’re behaving for their teachers and parents, keeping their rooms clean and making their beds.

“They’re sitting there nodding their heads, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah. And so it’s great to share that excitement, because we only have one childhood, and if you can make any kids smile and make their childhood something that’s memorable that they talk about then we’re doing our part of being just good people, and that’s what I love to share,” he said.

“Christmas is about love. It’s about God’s love, and I want to share that with people. That’s why I play Santa, I want to share God’s love and just make a special memory for that family and that child that they can talk about all through all through life,” he said.

“I still have adults that call me Santa when they see me,” he added.

Another perk of his visits is that parents can take photos of their children with Santa.

“When they get the kids’ photos, then they have those memories and those photos for a lifetime to cherish. And so it’s a special thing. It’s a special time,” he said.

Metzger also likes to have a little fun with acquaintances who have no idea how the man in the Santa suit knows who they are.

‘I love catching people off guard that have no idea who I am. A few years ago, I played Santa for Wise Options for Women, and I saw a gentleman I know walking down Fourth Street. And I said, Hi Tom. He goes, hiya, Santa. He goes, Hey, Santa. How do you know me? Who are you? I said, I’m Santa. And before he could open his mouth, I had flown around the corner,” he said.

Two years later, Metzger said he saw the man again and asked if he remembered the incident.

“I said, Hey Tom, Do you remember seeing Santa at Wise Options for Women? He goes, Yeah, was that you? That drove me nuts? I couldn’t figure out who Santa was. I think about that, it drove me nuts,” he shared.

“I love doing that. I love catching people off guard, and especially adults, and you talk about them, and you talk about where they worked, or who they’re married to, and then it’s just, who’s Santa, who in the world is that? Did I work with you? And you’re like, No, well, how do I know you? Santa knows everybody,” he said.

There are also children who might be past the age when other children have stopped believing but their parents contact him to visit one more time.

“The parents call you and say, ‘listen, they’re still believing. They think you’re the real Santa, and we need you to come back this year.’ I’m more than willing to, I’m more than willing to. It’s about just sharing that love with each other at this special time of year,” he said.

This year Metzger said that the number of Santa visits he makes will probably be in the teens. Over the weekend he visited a nursing home and spoke with a 103-year-old woman and was able to thank a veteran who had served his country. His excitement about those encounters is equal to his visits with children because for Metzger it’s all about sharing love at Christmas.

Through the years, he’s heard requests for all kinds of gifts-ponies, puppies, a real race car. There are gifts that have been popular and hard to find, like Cabbage Patch dolls, Teddy Ruxpin. And then there are children who are facing trauma and ask for healing and resolution.

“Not every situation is happy, and those are the ones you’ve got to really have empathy for, and you’ve got to show extra kindness, because not everybody’s happy this time of year. So Santa has to really have that tender heart. And when you have that child that is suffering something such as trauma or a broken family, and they ask for something, then you have to have the empathy and kindness to understand him and tell him that Santa will be thinking of you and things will get better as life goes on,” he said.

There are times, he said, when Santa “gets a tear in his eyes, too,” such as when a man shared that his mother was sick.

Metzger said he told him, “Santa will be praying for your mom and praying for you.”

“He had tears in his eyes and that’s what pulls at your heartstrings,” he said.

“The majority of it are happy times, but you run into situations and you have to spend a little bit extra time on those situations. Maybe a little bit more time with that child or adult talking because they’re going through a difficult, difficult period. So those extra minutes mean a lot to that person,” he added.

On a less serious note, Metzger wanted to remind kids to leave cookies for Santa because “Santa loves cookies.”

Does Santa think of retiring, maybe passing the suit along to the next generation? Not likely. He’s having too much fun.

“I’ll keep doing it until people stop asking me,” Metzger said.