What does Santa Claus do the rest of the year

To the photographer from Toronto Mary Beth Coase wondered what Santa does the rest of the year. After Christmas is over and the cheerful fat man has fulfilled all his duties, Santa has a whole year at his disposal to do other things.

Armed with a camera and a healthy dose of curiosity, Mary Beth began her project "Santas in the off-season". During the project, she travels, communicating with people who wear a red suit for Christmas. Most of the heroes of the Mary project live in the state of Florida. Of course, why would Santa spend the whole year at the North Pole?

Santa Ernie Tadrow is originally from Baltimore, Maryland. He moved to Orlando after his mother's death and began a career in the hotel business, where he reached the position of Sales and marketing director. Describing what he would do if he were a real Santa Claus, Eri says: "One week a month I would travel. In the morning I would fly to Chicago, go to a restaurant with a client in a limo, then sign half a million contracts, and in the evening I would fly home in time for dinner. I love it!" Now Ernie lives in Tamarack (Florida) with his wife, with whom he has been married for 23 years. He is the administrator of the condominium community.

67-year-old Santa John Snyder, awarded the Purple Heart Medal for his participation in the Vietnam War, was born and raised in Queens, New York. "When I returned from the army, I wanted to become a playboy for a while, until I calmed down - I wanted to sow my wild oats freely for a while, so to speak. Then I met my future wife, fell head over heels in love with her and got married, so I had to cancel my plans." For several years, John was the president of Menza, the oldest and largest society of people with high IQ in South Florida. John and his wife now live in Kendall, Florida.

77-year-old Santa Lance Willock is a former salesman from Peoria, Illinois. Music has always been his passion. He ran home from work on Fridays, dressed up and went with his group to have fun in popular places of the city. "I met my wife Rosemary when I was playing at a club. She had never imagined that it would end this way. I think she probably would have run away somewhere if she had known how it would all turn out for her." Lance and Rosemary now live in a nursing home in Stewart, Florida.

Santa Joe is a big and loving Catholic from the New York Bronx. A few years ago, Joe and his wife bought a condo in Margate, Florida. Joe's friends and relatives from the Bronx live in 80 houses on the territory of their village. "We all grew up together and now we want to grow old together," says Joe.

Santa Greg Henry is a carpenter at one of the boat workshops in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. "I make big expensive toys for very wealthy boys and girls," Greg said. His career in this field began with a love of construction, and Greg's experience has been more than 40 years. "The only thing I didn't do was coffins. It's just not very interesting to me." Many years ago, after a difficult divorce, Greg spent two years working as a stripper. "My stage name was Grizzly Greg because I had a beard and I was pretty hairy. At that time, I realized that it's really hard to take off your clothes when you're standing."

Santa Roy is a retired police officer who was named one of the Top 10 law enforcement officers in Florida in 1984. Now he runs his own detective agency, having more than 40 years of experience in law enforcement. In his spare time, Roy plays the banjo with his son and sings in a band. He also collects old flags, political souvenirs and Japanese swords.