A co-production with Eugénie Baccot.

They’re hard at work delivering packages and surprises to well-behaved children asleep all over the world on December 24.
So, a few months before harnessing the reindeer and filling their sacks, the Santa and Mother Claus ... go on a cruise. It’s a European vacation that’s far from relax-ing, because between a game of mini-golf and a tea dance, the men in red continue their apprenticeship at the Santas school.

We boarded a cruise ship in the Mediterranean Sea with some twenty Santa vacationers f rom the USA.The idea of offering the Santas, members of the International University of SantaClaus, the opportunity to spend some quality time together was born in the hood of Santa Tim Connaghan, a 50-year old veteran with sparkling white hair and beard.

This summer cruise from Barcelona to Rome via France is an opportunity for professional Santas to get together and fraternize. It’s not all fun and games, though, as between a game of mini-golf and a tea dance, they continue their training at the Santas school.The men on this cruise are, as the saying goes, “real bearded Santas”, as opposed to Santas with fake beards. They introduce themselves as “Santa Tom” or “SantaKen” and address each other as old friends.