Ethan Guthrie, 14, sits on Sensitive Legendary Santa’s lap for a photo in 2022.
Trust Santa to know what children really need.
For the past 10 years, Richmond’s Legendary Santa, who spends time at the Children’s Museum of Richmond’s downtown location prior to his round-the-world journey on Christmas Eve, has made a special effort to meet with children for whom a traditional noise- and crowd-filled visit doesn’t feel jolly and fun.
In special sessions, Sensitive Legendary Santa is able to help children with sensory or other special needs enjoy their interaction, whether on his lap, in his chair or standing nearby. The lights are lower, the room is quieter, and Santa can make a connection with his visitor in an especially soothing manner.
“We want all families within our community to be able to enjoy an experience with Santa that meets the needs of their children so it’s magical and a memory,” says Krista Dawson, CMoR’s director of education.
This year, nearly 50 families were able to visit with Sensitive Legendary Santa on three different nights. In addition to time with the big guy, children can explore the Fawn Shop, where they can purchase gifts for their favorite people as well as pets, and enjoy play time in the museum itself, which stays open late just for these visits.
“There’s magic [those nights]; I don’t know how the magic happens,” Dawson says. “It’s an experience for all of us that heightens what this season should be about. You see it from our staff to the families we are serving.”
Dawson points to a long-standing partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University’s occupational therapy program as being another key element to the success of Sensitive Legendary Santa. While a few CMoR staff are present, “everything else happens because VCU is with us,” Dawson says. “The OT students are more expert than our staff. And the students get to see a natural environment, with families engaging in activities.”
The VCU volunteers greet families, help children make purchases in the Fawn Shop and select books for themselves, and assist in the museum’s play areas.
(From left) VCU occupational therapy students Elsie Baker, Ellie Shelp and Dominique Ebba assist with activities during a Sensitive Santa night.
Heather Guthrie, who’s in her second year of pursuing a doctorate in occupational therapy at VCU, has a special connection to Sensitive Legendary Santa: her brother, Ethan.
Ethan, 14, has FOXP1 syndrome, which has resulted in diagnoses of autism, intellectual disability and developmental delays. Guthrie says she and her family have visited Legendary Santa her whole life, and she remembers watching how challenging the visits were for Ethan.
“It was hard for all of us,” she says. “There were so many people, so many noises, so many things going on. For someone who is over-responsive, that’s too much for them. It’s a lot to handle.”
Guthrie says her family was able to take Ethan to Sensitive Legendary Santa for the first time in 2018, and the difference was clear.
“If you look at [older] pictures, Ethan is crying in a lot of them; that’s hard to see,” she says. “With the switch over to Sensitive Santa, he was able to take things at his own pace. Ethan’s speech can be hard to understand, and Sensitive Santa did a great job working to understand him. Ethan just looked so much less stressed. I can see how happy it made him, just not to be overwhelmed.”
This year, for the first time, Guthrie was able to be with Ethan during his Sensitive Santa visit both as a sister and as a volunteer. Guthrie assisted at the museum last year, but the 2021 time slots with Sensitive Santa filled before her family could register Ethan. They did secure a spot this year, which was a joy all around, Guthrie says.
“It was really great I got to do both that day,” Guthrie says, noting that before their Santa visit, she spent time with Ethan in the museum, where he endeavored to fill a basket with as many apples as it would hold at the apple tree and climbed the treehouse so he could take advantage of the long slide down.
During his visit with Santa, Ethan asked for Dinotrux trucks and “had a nice chat,” Guthrie says. “At the end, Santa told Ethan he loved him and that he should be a good boy, and Ethan kept repeating that after,” she adds.
CMoR’s Dawson says Sensitive Legendary Santa usually comes to the museum right after Thanksgiving and in early December. Families who have visited in the past typically receive emails with the registration date, and information is made available on the museum’s website and on Eventbrite.
“We don’t do any promotion,” Dawson says, pointing to a balancing act between serving as many families as they can while preserving the experience.
Guthrie says her family first learned about the opportunity through word of mouth. She hopes news of Sensitive Legendary Santa will continue to spread.
“Ethan is my favorite person in the world; he’s the reason why I want to be an occupational therapist,” she says. “It’s great to see so many families be able to access this.”
