Personally, I strive to align my behavior, my words and my actions with that of my version of Santa Claus… which for me is my “Higher Self”, or I my “Best” self. Living in alignment with these “Higher Self” ideals is the primary reason I started portraying Santa year-round.

A couple of things this means to me, and when the opportunities present themselves what I try to encourage in others, both children and adults, are the ideas of being NICE & being GOOD FOR GOODNESS SAKE.

Here is the concern I have and the reason I’m writing this…

Some people see being nice as being weak, or being a pushover, or being the one who always compromises… I DO NOT see it that way… at all!

“Never mistake my silence for ignorance, my calmness for acceptance, and my kindness for weakness.”

To me being NICE is primarily related to thoughtfulness & communications.  

By having a reputation of being nice people may try to take advantage of you, we must remember, nobody can take advantage of us if we don’t let them. We can be firm and still be nice.

I tell children and adults alike that being nice doesn’t mean being powerless and allowing ourselves to be bullied. Being nice isn’t about having no preference or opinion and it doesn’t mean being okay with everything.

That’s not being a nice person… It’s being weak, or lazy, or worse.

For example, if someone hits you being a nice person doesn’t mean standing there and letting them hit you again. If you’re in a relationship, or a Facebook Group, with someone who constantly puts you down, being a nice person doesn’t mean not standing up for yourself.

If you always pay for someone during meals  and they never offer to pay, you can choose to split the bill the next time. Being a nice person doesn’t mean you are obligated to do things that make you unhappy.

If your niceness is something you’re complaining, or even feeling a bit annoyed with, you’re not being nice, you’re allowing yourself to be taken advantage of. That’s not niceness or generosity, that’s passive-aggressiveness.

When we feel taken advantage of, it has very little to do with us being a nice person and very much to do with our inability to say ‘no’ and to communicate why.

Being nice doesn’t mean not communicating our frustration or upset. It just means communicating without negativity or losing our temper.

There are many ways of saying one thing and we can choose to voice our discontentment and disagreement in a calm, rational and nice way.

And we can always choose to nicely disengage or exit a toxic environment.

People will only treat us badly if we let them. People will only take advantage of us if we let them. We can be a nice, a kind, warm, generous and open person without saying yes to things we’re unhappy about. Be nice and confident and smart, and be happy, always.

BEING NICE IS SIMPLE… But it’s not always easy.

What about being good?

From my “Higher Self” perspective I always add being good for GOODNESS SAKE. What does that mean, and why is it so important to me?

There is strength in having your good behaviour emanate from a desire that is bigger than people.

We might tell a young child, “be good for your grandma while I’m away” and that’s fine, in away, for a young child… but as we get a little older… say 6 or 7, (or 60 or 70), we don’t want our good behaviour to be the result of external expectations or constraints.  

For GOODNESS SAKE implies you are being good, because you are the kind of person who does good.

Good behavior of course covers a lot of ground… these 12 virtues are a good place to start:

1) Courage – bravery and valor

2) Temperance – self-control and restraint

3) Liberality – bigheartness, charity and generosity  

4) Magnificence – radiance, joie de vivre

5) Pride – self-satisfaction

6) Honor – respect, reverence, admiration  

7) Good Temper – equanimity, level headedness

8) Friendliness – conviviality and sociability

9) Truthfulness – straightforwardness, frankness and candor

10) Wit – a sense of humor – meaninglessness and absurdity  

11) Friendship – camaraderie and companionship

12) Justice – impartiality, evenhandedness and fairness

These virtues align with my “Highest Self”, you?

I’m always on the lookout for the right language and interesting examples and stories that I can use to demonstrate the value of living by a code of values, values that serve both us and others well.

Being GOOD for GOODNESS SAKE too is simple… and often not easy.

My Santa Claus portrayal has helped keep the importance of being nice and being good for goodness sake front and center in my mind… over the years the percentage of time that I actually live in alignment with these values and virtues has increase… I am and always will be a work in progress… but I am making progress.

My hope and intention is to bring smiles, and happiness into a lot of lives… and, where possible, to be ready and able to provide a bit more… something a bit more significant and with the potential be a real, long-term, life-enriching gift.

The gift of perhaps playing a small part in helping someone become a GOOD person who is NICE.

Santa Claus is loved worldwide, of course, but there’s nowhere on earth where Santa Claus can have a greater impact on more people than in Los Angeles, California.

The North Pole is great and Santa magic happens there for sure, but there’s another place where Santa magic happens and that’s LA.

The best thing about being Santa Claus is BEING Santa Claus. In the first ½ of the year, LA allows Santa to be in pictures, movies, and TV commercials as well as make surprise appearances at birthday parties and many other unexpected places… the beaches… I LOVE the beaches.

I regularly walk along the beaches from Malibu to Redondo Beach. I’ve visited with thousands of people and appeared in hundreds and hundreds of photos, mostly ‘selfies’ as I was strolling the Southern California beaches. I’ve even appeared in several ‘commercial Santa photoshoots’ in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Malibu & Santa Monica.   

Santa Claus appearing at Christmas in July pictures & events is big too…

In So Cal everyone loves to see Santa Claus in shorts and red shirts… and you can see me in my ‘vacation wear’ almost every day. 

KOST radio and many other LA area companies, organizations and retailers love to have Santa come by and say hi in July… and of course, I LOVE IT!

In late Summer and Fall Santa tends to do many photo shoots, auditions and TV shows & TV commercial shoots all around Los Angeles and at the Hollywood studios.

Here are some fun Santa photos from shoots I did this summer…

Voyage LA just published a “Meet Santa Ed Taylor” article. 

The asked some interesting questions about me portraying Santa, my acting and some of my other activities. 

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Here’s the link- http://voyagela.com/interview/meet-ed-taylor-santa-ed-taylor-santa-monica/

Santa Claus on The Doctors TV Show 

The Doctors TV show “Holiday Special Giveaway” is AMAZING! Santa arrives on the set and helps The Doctors  Dr. Travis Stork, Dr. Andrew Ordon, Dr. Nita Landry and Dr. Sonia Batra.

The gifts are AMAZING! 

The Doctors is an Emmy® Award-winning daytime talk show that airs on CBS.

The Doctors Holiday Specials (Part 1 & 2) air Thursday, November 30th & Friday, December 1st!   

The episodes will also re-run later in December. To find the time and station the episode will air in your city, please input your zip code on our website www.thedoctorstv.com

Santa Claus on The Doctors TV Show 2016 & 2017. Santa Ed Taylor

Have you seen the 2017 Overstock dot com Christmas commercial with Santa Claus?

It’s a cute one. The elves break some bad news to Santa… the reindeer Prancer has come down with pneumonia… luckily the elves have a backup reindeer at the ready… Bob Humbug. Well, the name just cracked ol’ Santa Claus up.

The Overstock spokesperson comes on and talks about how tough it is when you get judged by your name.

Yes, I AM Santa in that Overstock dot com holiday commercial.

The shoot was amazing… a great cast and crew at a mindblowing estate in Malibu, California.

The commercial has been playing on Hallmark as well as many other cable channels and even some network shows.

Here it is if you haven’t yet seen it…

It was a dream come true… to be cast as Santa Claus in a Christmas movie and to top it off the work with the amazing Margaret O’Brien!

I don’t know what will appear in the movie, (it’s still in post-production) but I’m pretty sure

Margaret O’Brien with Santa Claus

you will see me in a scene with Ms. O’Brien… I’m seriously beside myself!

Beverly Hills Christmas II is a sequel to the popular movie, Beverly Hills Christmas that was shown on UP TV during Christmas 2015 to more than 70 million viewers.

The director is Christian Filippella who was wonderful to work with and others actors include Ronn Moss, Kira Reed Lorsch, Donna Spangler, Megan Duffy, Stanley B. Herman, Simona Fusco, Vincent De Paul, James Bennett Foxworth, Brandon Tyler Russell and Sammy The Dwarf amongst others.

Being selected by Christian Filippella and working with the amazing Margaret O’Brien as Santa Claus in Beverly Hills Christmas II has been one of the highlights of my acting career in Hollywood.

So, if you happen to be watching Beverly Hills Christmas II and you think, hey, that Santa Claus looks familiar, YES, THAT SANTA GUY is Santa Claus in the Beverly Hills Christmas II movie.

Photos with Santa Claus at Westfield’s 35 malls and many of their 6,500 retail outlets across the country and around the world has become an annual family tradition for many families. This year, 2017, I’m incredibly honored to have been selected by Westfield’s to be the face of Santa Claus in their posters and social media.

So, if you happen to be walking through a Westfield mall and you think the Santa in the poster looks familiar… YES, it’s That Santa Guy.

Being Santa Claus on Nickelodeon this year is such a huge honor and SO MUCH FUN. I was delighted to find that my “That Santa Guy” reputation had preceded me. As it turns out I had worked with some of the crew on another shoot earlier in the summer.

As the “Nickelodeon Santa” I deliver a bunch of one-liners that will be used to introduce shows and segments. Santa also appears in a few skits and improv scenes that are hilarious.

We shot some of the scenes in front of a green screen so I’m looking forward to seeing where I will appear to be when it airs on TV. Other scenes were shot on a rooftop… that was fun!

So if you’re watching Nickelodeon this Christmas season and see Santa Claus… and you think he looks familiar… yep, you’re right, That Santa Guy is the Nickelodeon Santa Claus 2017.

Being Santa Claus in Malibu is about as much fun as Santa can have. On many occasions, I’ve met with families and photographers to take Santa Claus photos at Matador Beach, private homes and other locations in and around Malibu.

On many occasions, Santa has met with families and photographers to take Santa Claus photos at Matador Beach, private homes and other locations in and around Malibu.

Arrangements can even be made to have the Malibu Santa Claus be joined by his reindeer.

Here are some recent Malibu Santa Claus photos…

Santa Claus on the beach in Malibu

Santa Claus in Malibu with Reindeer

Santa Claus Photos in Malibu

Santa Ed Taylor is the Santa Claus for hire in the Malibu area. 424-343-9555

Being Santa Claus in Southern California has provided me with more fun experiences than I could have ever dreamed of. Imagine getting a call asking you to be Santa Claus in Hollywood for the Jimmy Kimmel show. I was thrilled when I received the call… and I had a blast taping it!

Earlier in the year, I auditioned along with dozens of other Santa’s and I was fortunate enough to book the job as the Santa sales manager for the 2016 Chrysler commercial. It blew me away! Then to have it debuted during Game 7 of the World Series, WOW! And then to see it air over 10,000 more times, like they say, only in Hollywood. I love being a Hollywood Santa Claus! 🙂

Appearing on The Doctor’s TV show, That Awkward Game Show, shooting an Urban Home commercial with Denise Richards, seeing the Reddi Wip commercial I shot last year air many more times, appearing at parties for Facebook, Pinterest, Mattel Toys, the Lakers, Rams, and just so many amazing events, what more could a Santa ask for?

I also remember standing in line at Pink’s Hot Dog shop when my phone rang… it was the Ellen DeGeneres Show asking if I could be Santa at their cast & crew party… Well Yeah! 🙂

At Children’s Hospital Los Angeles I met a teenager who asked for Santa to get her 500 views on her YouTube channel. Santa and his “helpers” delivered.

Now sitting here on Valentine’s Day I’ve had time to reflect on just what a blessing it is to be Santa Claus in this amazing community. Los Angeles, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Malibu, Manhattan Beach and the entire LA area is just incredibly unique and full of so many fun things to do as Santa Claus. For example’ I did some photos shoots on the sand on both Manhattan and Malibu beaches. The photos were amazing!  Also in Malibu, I made an appearance at a party for Kim Kardashian, of course, that was amazing too… they even had some reindeer.

At an event for Grayson’s Luxury in Beverly Hills, I wore this incredibly unique white Santa suit… it was a huge hit!

One of the other highlights of 2016 was getting cast as the real Santa Claus in Beverly Hills Christmas 2. We shot several scenes in December and we’ll be shooting more this year. While on the topics of movies, A Doggone Christmas hired me to be a stand-in for Ed Asner… Ed Asner!

Being a Santa Claus actor in Hollywood is a ton of fun… and being a Santa Claus for LA Christmas parties and special events is amazing.  

Now what?

Well, 2017 promises to hold even more amazing experiences for me and for the people I get to work with. I’m developing new stories, expanding my Santa Claus wardrobe, taking classes to build my acting skills and so much more.

If you’re looking for a professional real bearded Hollywood Santa Claus for hire in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, or anywhere in the greater west LA area please let me know.

And… please help me keep the Spirit of Christmas alive ALL YEAR LONG.