History Main / MallSanta

* ''TheBoondocks'' episode "A Huey Freeman Christmas" has a subplot where Riley, angry at not having received a Christmas gift he asked for in previous years, physically attacks the local Mall Santa with golf clubs and BB guns. After hiring a security guard for Santa does nothing to deter Riley, [[spoiler: Uncle Ruckus is left as the only Woodcrest resident willing to be the Mall Santa, but none of the children who come to the mall are willing to accept a black Santa Claus as real]].

* [[InvaderZim Zim]] abducts a mall Santa to gain information about how to use the image of Santa Claus to TakeOverTheWorld

* The cast of ''{{Glee}}'' encounter a rather JerkAss mall Santa, who promises dim Brittany that he will cure Artie's paralysis.

* In ''KevinAndKell'', Kevin takes a temp job as a mall Santa to earn the money to buy Kell's family heirlooms from her brother Ralph, who plans to sell them off anyway. He's surprised when ex-wife Angelique, herding her stepchildren from her (failed) second marriage, fails to recognize him. (It's pointed out to him that, with twenty children to keep track of, ''anyone'' would be a bit distracted.)

* In ''{{PVP}}'', Skull is accidentally pressganged into being a mall Santa while stoned on a bad orange julius and ends up telling a mother where she can buy the game console Francis had squirreled away for himself.
* In an early ''SomethingPositive'' strip, Jason works as a mall Santa. A circle of children's heads demonstrates the inevitable questions posed to him. The final panel is someone asking him what he wants for Christmas, to which he replies, "A vasectomy."

* ''{{Multiplex}}'' has the Blogger play the part of a ''movie theater'' Santa, in which role he frequently argues with the kids' taste in movies, at odds with the jolly persona he's supposed to maintain. On quite a few ocassions he loses the arguement.

* Psycho Mantis attempted to get a job as one in ''TheLastDaysOfFOXHOUND''. He bounced when someone got ahold of his employee record (or, rather, complete lack of one). Ocelot, upon learning of it, becomes completely freaked out.

* Kramer in ''{{Seinfeld}}''.
* ''KenanAndKel'' had Kenan playing the Mall Santa and giving up the mountain bike he'd been saving up for to really buy gifts for two of the kids.
* ''ThirdWatch'''s Season 5 episode "The Spirit" had grumpy policeman Sully playing Santa at a toy store.
* ''BostonLegal'' had an episode in the first season where Alan Shore represents a mall Santa who's a WholesomeCrossdresser (not at work) in a court action to keep him from being fired because of it. This ends with Al Sharpton being coming into the courtroom and having no clue what he's doing, and saying "So give the world a black Santa Clause!"
* Thelma Harper takes on the job in the ''MamasFamily'' episode "Santa Mama", to fill in for her son Vinton, who lost his voice practicing his "Ho Ho Ho".
* ''SaturdayNightLive''

* In the ''DrakeAndJosh'' Christmas [[TheMovie movie]], Drake plays Santa, while his brother Josh plays Santa's sack (of toys). Drake ends up making a promise to a little girl that the two of them spend the rest of the movie keeping.

* In the ''NaturallySadie'' episode "A Very Sadie Christmas", Hal gets a job as a mall Santa and uses it as an opportunity to scam free stuff, demanding bribes from kids in exchange for promising to grant their Christmas wishes.

** On top of this, though, the first girl on his lap mentioned how she'd asked for a puppy the year before, and instead got Tap shoes (metal plates on the heels and toes). Her mother told her to thank Santa for bringing them, and she decided [[GroinAttack to show them off]], leading into a CurseCutShort. Given ''just that'' experience, who can blame Jason for being a bit cynical?

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mallsanta_9838.jpg]]

[[AC:{{Advertising}}]]

[[AC:ComicBooks]]

[[AC:{{Fan Fiction}}]]
* [[FanFic/UltimateSpiderWoman Mary Jane Watson]] gets a job as one of Santa's helpers in the Christmas display at Macy's Department Store. She feels more than a little silly in her ChristmasElves outfit, but she turns out to actually be pretty good at the job.

-->'''Santa''': Tell you what kid, it's true. I'm not the real Santa, you think only one man can run this operation? Santa sends his agents out to find out what the kids act and if they're really being naughty or nice.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

[[AC:{{Music}}]]

[[AC:NewMedia]]

[[AC:NewspaperComics]]

[[AC:{{Radio}}]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]

[[AC:{{Webcomics}}]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

[[AC:WebOriginal]]

----

* ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'': In "Christmas Tree of Might," one of Turles' mooks had this job, and he was particularly nasty about it, dropping a fire truck on one kid's house and killing another because he asked him to cure his cancer.

** [[http://www.img.archiecomics.com/press/bvfdd219.600.jpg This]] Betty and Veronica double digest cover, in which a ''teenaged'' Betty is bothering a mall Santa.

* In issue #378 of ''ComicBook/IncredibleHulk'' (by PeterDavid), Rhino (a supervillain) becomes a Mall Santa. He gives this advice to kids: "Give! Give! Give! You want everything handed to you! Why not do what I do? Take stuff! See it? Want it? Take it!"
* ''{{Archie}}'' comics have used this plot in many a Christmas themed storyline.

* ''JusticeSocietyOfAmerica'': Ma Hunkel, the original RedTornado, spent time each Christmas as a mall Santa. A group of crooks make the mistake of attempting to rob her mall on the Christmas Eve the JSA turn up to recruit her as their housekeeper.

* ''HotFuzz'' features a scene of Creator/PeterJackson as Father Christmas stabbing SimonPegg in the hand.

** Not to mention Death's failure to perceive certain human conventions regarding appropriate gifts for children. Such as the full-size, completely real ''broadsword'' he hands to a little girl, before being hastily convinced that a fully functional weapon might not be the best idea (he just turned the blade to wood). Or a girl a real life pony to be in her home . . . in a second floor apartment. Overall, he gives children toys that they actually want, rather than what their parents consider appropriate for them. Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes not.

** The pilot.

* ''DragonBallAbridged'': In "Christmas Tree of Might," one of Turles' mooks had this job, and he was particularly nasty about it, dropping a fire truck on one kid's house and killing another because he asked him to cure his cancer.

* ImprovEverywhere has the "Mall Santa Musical" song about adults' desire to sit on a mall Santa's lap.

* ImprovEverywhere has the "Mall Santa Musical" song about adults' desire to sit on a mall santa's lap.

* ''{{Roseanne}}'' convinces her boss to let her play Santa ''herself,'' and the kids fall for it even though she doesn't remotely sound like a man. Jackie plays Mrs. Claus...as a drill sargent photographer.

In more outlandish shows with SpeculativeFiction or MundaneFantastic premises, the character may be [[SavingChristmas the real deal]].

** Actually the "black Santa" that replaces the first one was the store's manager.

** Little Girl: "I want a pony!"
** Red: "Ponies die."

* In the ChristmasEpisode of ''RoundTheTwist'', CoolOldLady Nell becomes a MallSanta. It leads to her being attacked by the ''real'' Santa.

* ''BadSanta'' featured a thief working as a Mall Santa in order to rob the stores.

!!Examples

--> Santa: Tell you what kid, it's true. I'm not the real Santa, you think only one man can run this operation? Santa sends his agents out to find out what the kids act and if they're really being naughty or nice.
--> Artemis (quietly amazed): So how does he deliver those presents?
--> Santa: You think one man could deliver all those presents in one night by ''himself?''
--> Artemis: So he doesn't work alone?
--> Santa: Nope, he sends his agents to deliver presents all around the world and no one knows the difference.

* Look ''Who's Talking Now'' features Kirstie Alley's character having to work as a department store Santa's Elf. A kid asks her if she's an elf, and she replies that she's [[ActorAllusion actually a]] [[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan Vulcan]].

* Soul Man featured a mall Santa, also. With Rev. Weber's son having a technicolour yawn all over Santa's beard on both years he went to see him.

* {{Roseanne}} convinces her boss to let her play Santa ''herself,'' and the kids fall for it even though she doesn't remotely sound like a man. Jackie plays Mrs. Claus...as a drill sargent photographer.
* On ''[[{{Britcom}} Are You Being Served?]]'', an episode dealt with the store employees' competition to ''be'' the MallSanta.

* In the ChristmasEpisode of ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia, Charlie realizes that when he was a child, everyone who came to his house dressed as Santa on Christmas had sex with his mom. A Mall Santa happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

* Music: Fountains of Wayne has a song called "The Man in the Santa Suit" about an unnamed guy doing this. He is not very good at it, but the song is from his POV, so it's pointed out that neither is anyone else.

* During the [[YouMeanXMas Feast of Winter's Veil]] in VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft, "Greatfather Winter" can be found in Ironforge and Orgrimmar.

* In an early SomethingPositive strip, Jason works as a mall Santa. A circle of children's heads demonstrates the inevitable questions posed to him. The final panel is someone asking him what he wants for Christmas, to which he replies, "A vasectomy."

[[AC:FanFic]]
* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4755435/1/Metal_Gear_Santa Metal Gear Santa]] featured Old Snake dressed up as Santa Claus and Sunny and Otacon dressed up as elves.

[[AC:Other]]
* The ''[[http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/lists/sedaris/ SantaLand Diaries]]'' - Humorist Creator/DavidSedaris recounts his experience as an Elf in the Macy's Santa village.
* Also from [[{{NPR}} Public Radio]], Act III of ''This American Life'' #371 ("[[http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/371/scenes-from-a-mall Scenes from a Mall]]") features the fascinating and [[SeriousBusiness serious]] tale of the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas (AORBS).
* The I Can Has Cheezburger site "Sketchy Santas", which displays odd, awkward and sometimes slightly scary moments with real mall Santas.
* The Capital One ad with the inversion of the beard pull trope-the kid on Santa's lap is the kid who's one of the Vikings in the commercial. He has a beard, despite the fact he's too young to, and Santa pulls it, which makes the kid say 'ouch'.

* In one Artemis Fowl fanfiction, Artemis's mother takes a five-year old Artemis Christmas shopping and makes take a picture with one. Artemis bluntly tells the Santa that he knows the man is a fake. The Mall Santa rolls with it, telling Artemis of the Santa Conspiracy.

* SantaWho has a scenario where Santa falls from his sleigh and gets amnesia, and during the course of the movie, he ends up as a mall Santa for awhile.

* ''TheSimpsons''

* ''[[http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/lists/sedaris/ The Santaland Diaries]]'' - Humorist Creator/DavidSedaris recounts his experience as an Elf in the Macy's Santa village.