Santa Claus at Ballston Common Mall

You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you why: Santa Claus has come to Ballston. The enormous Christmas tree is now erect in the food court of the Ballston Common Mall, and the throne that stands before it is meant for the one and only Santa Claus. He will be sitting there during assigned hours throughout the rest of the holiday season to take pictures and present requests from boys and girls of all ages.

The Arlington Jaycees have been using this Santa booth for many years as their primary fundraiser. The Jaycees are a group of professionals, ages 20-40, who volunteer and work toward building community as well as professional development (www.arlingtonjaycees.ning.com). This year they are also sharing the profits with the Animal Welfare League of Arlington.  AWLA has been dedicated to the humane treatment of animals and animal welfare since 1944, (www.awla.org).

"This is definitely our big fundraiser," explained Arlington Jaycee, Megan Shipley. "I believe somewhere in the neighborhood of $5,000 ends up going to the organization."

Of course some of the money must go to renting the space, providing equipment, the other organization, and, let's not forget, Santa.

"It's very hot!" described the man in the big Santa suit, Walt Degroot. Walt has been playing the part of Santa for nine years now. Despite his complaint of temperature, he seems to enjoy his work as the man of the season.

"Sometimes you get screaming children, but that's my job," he said. "My job is to make little children happy."

He must do that job very well as he is evidently in high demand by the people.

"We have more than one Santa because we have so many hours, but Walt is our number one Santa," Shipley grinned, "He is even multilingual."

While Degroot may speak a variety of languages, he undoubtedly cannot speak to one of their most popular cliental: Pets. Pet photo hours are Sunday, December 5th, 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. and Sunday, December 12th 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.. The pet photo hours are extremely popular with the area, given the large number of animal lovers in Arlington.

"The booth is pretty popular in general," said Shipley, "We think our prices are a big lure. In other big malls they force you to buy a big package of overpriced photos, but we are cheaper than most places."

With a simple and affordable pay structure, their business gets booming, particularly in the weeks before Christmas. The group charges $8 per photo with frame, $6 per photo without frame, and $5 per reprint.

See the schedule below for times, and check out Patch's "Volunteer" section to learn how you can help out at Santa's booth.

Saturday, Dec. 4: 1 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 5: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m.  *Pet Photos: 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 11: 1 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 12: 12 p.m. -6 p.m.  *Pet Photos: 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 15: 3 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 16: 3 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 17: 3 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 18: 1 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 19: 12 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 20: 3 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 21: 3 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 22: 3 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 23: 3 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 24: 12 p.m. - 6 p.m.