Dressing as Santa and Mrs. Claus, a walk in the park for Moncton couple
Kashmala Fida | CBC News | Posted: December 23, 2016 12:00 PM | Last Updated: December 23, 2016
The couple has been spreading cheer around the city for years
Sometimes Santa Claus likes to take a break from all his work and go for a stroll in the park with Mrs. Claus.
Paul Nickerson, 74, and his partner Janet Cormier-Churchill, 69, have been going to Moncton parks as Santa and Mrs. Claus for three years now.
They can be seen walking hand in hand, waving to strangers and taking lots of pictures.
Nickerson, an oil truck driver in Nova Scotia, started dressing up as Santa in 1996.
The former truck driver worked in an area where there were a lot of daycares.
"The children would be out there waving and laughing and hollering," he said. "It put quite a joy in me, is what it did."
After he retired and moved to Moncton, Nickerson met Churchill.
He told her about his Santa suit-wearing tradition on their first date and she loved the idea so much, they dressed up that Christmas.
"It was great, we were doing a lot of kissing," she said.
"When other people see us and they wave 'hi' or say 'hi' and they say 'Merry Christmas', I just love that."
Nickerson bought his suit but Churchill created her own Mrs. Claus dress.
"We would be going around to her brothers' and sisters' and some of our friends' places and spending some time there for Christmas Eve before I have to go back to the North Pole," he said.
Nickerson said the main reason he does this is to bring happiness to other people.
"The feeling is [giving] enjoyment to everybody...especially the children," he said. "And to see the expression on their faces when they see a Santa Claus."