LANSING, Ill. (December 23, 2023) – From passing out Christmas cookies to dressing up as old Saint Nick, Thomas Shomer has been spreading joy and cheer during the holiday season for over five years.
Becoming Santa Claus
Shomer felt the need to spread holiday cheer even before he started dressing up as Santa.
During his freshman year as an undergrad at Valparaiso University, he used his remaining meal plan funds to purchase cookies from the campus mini-mart and passed them out around campus “to help alleviate stress for students during finals.”
By his senior year in 2019, Shomer was taking things a step further — he started dressing up as Santa Claus.
“I wanted to do something special for my last year at Valparaiso,” he said. “Students really enjoyed it, so I continued the Santa tradition going into my graduate studies at Marquette.”
Since coming to Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he has kept this tradition going, expanding it each year.
He recently upgraded his Santa suit by purchasing new boots, a bigger beard, and padding to replicate Santa’s infamous belly. He says he plans to continue to upgrade his Santa costume as needed.
Shomer’s final Santa appearance this season on the Marquette campus was at the university’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony on December 5.
“I took many pictures with families and kids, and it was great,” he said.
“This all started from having extra money at the end of the school year,” Shomer said, referring to his unused meal plan funds during his Valpo days.
Home for the holidays
Shomer is currently pursuing a PhD in mathematical and statistical sciences at Marquette. He was born and raised in Lansing. He attended TF South High School, graduating third in his class in 2016.
Although he mainly dresses as Santa on the campus of Marquette he decided to spread good cheer to the people of Lansing during his Christmas vacation.
He made stops at Lynnie Ques and JJ Kelley’s in Lansing to join in their Christmas festivities and take pictures with patrons while dressed as Santa.
“Being back home has been really great,” he said. “It has been nice to sleep in my own bed in my own room.”
Spreading joy and cheer
Shomer also spread Christmas cheer during a virtual meet and greet party for his upcoming summer internship with Allstate Insurance Company.
He connected with the event organizer to ask if he could attend the event dressed as Santa Claus. Many people were surprised when they saw him as they didn’t expect a visit from Santa Claus a week before Christmas.
“It was a lot of smiling faces,” Shomer said. “People seemed to be relatively happy about it. It was overall a good time.”
He says it is a “fantastic feeling” to be able to put smiles on people’s faces during the holiday season.
When asked what his favorite holiday is, it is no surprise that he said “Christmas.”
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