Tysons' Santa Celebrates 26 Years at Shopping Center

If you and your kids head to Tysons Corner Center to see Santa, you’ll be meeting with one of the most popular Santas ever. Father and grandfather Mike Graham of Sevierville, Tenn., a carpenter when he’s not tending to his Santa duties, started his holiday career many years ago in hopes of being shipped off to a mall in Hawaii, according to a recent story by NBC-4.

When he was assigned to Tysons, he thought he’d give it a shot. Twenty-six years later, he’s still at it, especially after mall managers shared glowing feedback from letters written by happy customers.

Six years ago, the mall actually tried to hire a new Santa when a new photo company took over holiday photos. There was an uproar, according to a story in The Washington Post.

The action led to “hundreds of calls, an online petition and threats to boycott the mall for giving its longtime Santa the heave-ho with little notice,” the paper noted in a follow-up story.

The protests worked, and he was rehired. “I’m grateful, overwhelmed with all the accolades,” Graham said at the time to NBC-4. “It’s wonderful. The human race is still a wonderful thing to be a part of.”

What’s his secret for being such a popular Santa?

“You take care of kids just like they’re your own,” Graham told the newspaper. “The best thing you can do for any kids at all is give them that one-on-one time. But instead of talking over them, you look directly in their eyes. That’s the secret of the whole thing.”

You can find out about visiting this popular Santa, including hours and photo prices, here. He’ll be at Tysons until 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

PHOTO of Santa aka Mike Graham courtesy of Tysons Corner Center via Facebook