Mike Blum — McAllen’s Jewish Santa
Ed. Note: A man I’ve known now for almost 40 years (1983), Mike Blum, played the part of Santa Claus in the Upper Valley for 20 years straight. Not being all that enlightened, I once asked him why he quit dressing up in red.
“Well,” he said after a pause, “I did it for 20 years.”
Duh, I thought. Dumb question. After 20 years, who wouldn’t be ready to hang up their Santa suit? The fact that Blum played the part for kids near and far and did it for two decades is an amazing accomplishment.
Back circa the 2000s, longtime Town Crier cooking columnist and community volunteer Jane Talbot, wife of longtime McAllen Attorney Morgan Talbot, wrote a narrative about Blum and what motivated him to first don the red suit, and then a little bit about the man himself, who has many accolades under his belt, including being selected nine years ago as the Easter Seals Humanitarian of the Year for his many years of service to the organization and community.
Is there really a Santa Claus? Throughout the ages, children have been asking that question— some of us grownups, too. It’s really confusing because we see Santa Claus everywhere—in the mall, at children’s parties, riding in parades and all sorts of places. How can Santa be everywhere all at once during the holiday season? One thing for sure, most of us have never seen Santa at home — it’s just a “been there, brought the toys, ate the cookies, and left” sort of thing.
One of the best-known Santas in the Upper Valley is a.k.a. Mike Blum.
A visitor of children in their homes on Christmas Day for 20 years, Santa Blum has also been spotted at museum parties, Easter Seals events, children’s clinics and many other places starry-eyed munchkins are eager to sit in his lap, tell him how good they’ve been, and present their list.
Santa Blum’s adventure began in 1981, when Bill and Sally Stocker asked him if he would be willing to don Santa Claus regalia and bring presents (they would provide) to their home on Christmas morning for their nearly oneyear- old daughter, Kelly.
“Under normal circumstances such a request would not be all that strange,” said Mike. “They were good friends, though, and Kelly was so cute. I enjoyed the experience so much that I did it again the next year… and the next… until the Christmas of 2001, when after 20 years, I finally decided to hang up my sleigh bells and Santa costume for the last time.”
The first time playing the part always stuck with him though.
“As I remember, it was not a particularly cold Christmas morning, but it was early. I donned my Santa suit, long white hair and beard, and white gloves. The costume also had black leggings with false white fur around the tops that slipped over my shoes to make them look like Santa boots. My wife, Pat, who also doubled in later years as Mrs. Clause, helped me dress for the part. In my early Santa days, I drove a green Plymouth Voyager. On this first Christmas Day as Santa Claus, before 8 a.m., I was out the door with a spring in my step and off to see little Kelly.”
Upon arrival at his friends’ home, he was greeted with flash bulbs and video tape recorders.
“Their living room was all decked out with every imaginable kind of Christmas lights, tree, ornaments, and holiday keepsakes. The glowing ambers in the fireplace confirmed that if Santa had used the chimney, it would have been quite a memorable experience for him!”
On Mike’s 50th birthday, his friends gave him a videotape of seven years of their daughter and Santa, and later, her little brother, sitting on his lap, opening presents, and happy that Santa came to see them.
“That’s what it was all about,” Mike said. “Santa came to see them! Not a trip to the mall or a photo studio. The real, live Santa showed up in their home. Rest assured, those children and scores of others had an experience they would not forget as news of my arrival made the rounds of family friends.
The next years, two more families requested a visit from Santa.
“That sounded good to me, and as I recall, one friend actually called me around 6 a.m. to let me know that they were up and it was OK to come by then. So -- Santa sprang out of bed, hitched up his green reindeer (his Plymouth Voyager) and was out on the street before the sun.”
Blum said that there were several out-of-the-ordinary aspects to his 20-year adventure.
“First of all, I expanded my visits to include scores of other children of all ages on Christmas Day and, later, Christmas Eve. And that’s when the magic happened! Kids—first two—then 10 saw me driving slowly through the neighborhoods on Christmas mornings. ‘It’s Santa!’ they would proclaim. Then, they would follow my car down the street on their new bikes or scooters. Opening my window, I would stop and, as though I had gone to Santa school, let out a great HO HO HO – Merry Christmas! Although they were shocked to see Santa on the road in a green car, they believed I was the real McCoy. They believed!”
Blum then offered his Santa persona as an auction-item for several non-profit organizations, raising more than $75,000 over the 20 years he played the part.
“At one of the “Collage Galas” to benefit the McAllen International Museum, two young families got into a bidding contest for a “Santa Children’s Christmas Party” for a charity of their choice. When the bids got up to $18,000, I stopped the bidding, offering to co-host and make my Santa appearance at two parties — one for each family. Graciously, they accepted, and the museum and another not-for profit made an extra $36,000 that year. Besides that, twice as many children had fun, too.”
A Jewish Santa?
“Finally, and the most unexpected thing of all,” he said, “is that I am Jewish. That’s when it hit me the first time I put on the beard. Growing up Jewish is not exactly a great training ground for playing Santa. In fact, Jews have nothing even resembling a Santa character. We do not, as a matter of course, really understand the significance of Santa to the celebration of Christmas. So I decided then that I was going to learn something about this jolly fellow and continue this annual adventure. What happened over my 20 years playing the part has been remarkable.”
Over the years, Blum has visited more than 75 families, about 25 households on Christmas Day. Later, he added a few visits on Christmas Eve after Marge Bentsen called and asked if Santa would come to her family’s celebration on that night. “When I reached her home that evening, I got out of the green sleigh and began packing my bag with the gifts. As I turned, there was a great dane, who stood up on his hind legs and put his front paws on my shoulders. In that position, the dog and I walked all the way to the front door and rang the doorbell. When the door opened, everybody was so excited—my friend was the only one who knew I was coming! The next year, her husband asked me to bring her a gift. I drove a new Infinity to their house that evening—but I had to leave it there.”
Mike Blum says the excitement he saw in the eyes of the children he visited over the years can’t be measured in terms of dollars.
“I was once asked, ‘Do you get paid for this?’ “No, not for money. I just do it for the fun. Once the Vannie Cook Cancer Treatment Center had a Christmas Party and asked me to come. They only treated adult patients, but they wanted the patient’s pictures taken sitting in Santa’s lap so they could send them to their relatives. Most of them had never seen Santa, and certainly had never sat in his lap, so it was great fun for them.”
Mike Blum is writing a book called, What If Santa Claus Were Jewish? Mixing together, if you will, one tradition with another, albeit one being far more ancient.
For approximately 50 years, Mike Blum has called McAllen home, first coming here in 1973 as McAllen’s first city planner, fresh out of A&M where he had almost completed his master’s degree in city planning after spending a two-year stint in the U.S. Army.
“I was in a grad school which had an internship agreement with the city of Edinburg, so I came to the Valley to do my internship,” he said. “Two months later, the Edinburg planner left, so they offered me his job. I still needed two more courses to complete my Master’s, but A&M said that if I could find grad-level courses at Pan American College, they would let me take my courses there to complete my A&M Master’s. They were thrilled that one of their interns was hired before he graduated.”
In 1973 the city of McAllen created a city planner position, so Blum moved next door.
“McAllen had a plan which had been developed by Bill Schupp (old-school city manager after whom the city park is named), but they had no planner. I got hired in a moment of history when McAllen was in transition from a small town to a major city; consequently, I was given authority to write the rules and regulations that are still on the books today.”
In 1979, Mike left the city to work in the private sector, eventually setting up his own consulting firm, Michael J. Blum Company, which was involved in real estate, marketing research, and economic development. During that period, he gave lots of talks on his vision of the economic future of south Texas and northern Mexico. Today he concentrates on the real estate and development sector.
By the way, Santa Claus apparently first appeared on the European continent in the 4th century. He was alleged to be St. Nicholas of Bari; however, as time has passed, most religious historians and experts in folklore believe that he never existed as a human, but then again, they no longer see through the eyes of a child, where everything is magical if you just make believe.
Today, for many, Santa is a spirit that lives within all of us—a spirit of generosity along with the desire to bring happiness to children. Even though we tend to keep that spirit hidden, it just kind of pops out of us when the holidays come. What Mike Blum has taught me, is that it doesn’t have to be the holidays to find the spirit within; we just need to let out more often.
Yes, children, THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS! As Mike Blum told me, “You will experience total joy when you do something for others for no reason at all. It’s wonderful. It’s a mitzvah!”
MERRY (belated) CHRISTMAS TO ALL.