Not everybody has what it takes to be an amateur Santa. But sometimes not having what it takes is no obstacle, and hundreds of dads, grandpas, uncles and ring-ins of all stripes have been called to serve under the red and white banner of Father Christmas. When push comes to shove, after all, it’s usually a matter of jumping out of a truck with a sack full of bags of lollies and handing them to crowds of excited children who probably aren’t paying too much attention to the fine detail of your costume. Store Santas are different, of course, and it was on the various bony knees of store Santas that many Australian children logically concluded that either Santa was a myth or that he delegated prolifically. There were Santas with real beards and Santas with facial fuzz as fake as a Murdoch headline. There were Santas with black-rimmed eyeglasses and Santas with perfect vision. But pretty much all of them were certain that Christmas was going to be good. With all that in mind, here is a small gallery of photos of some Aussie Santas, over the years.
