And now, Mother Christmas!

Myth describes Santa as a fat man with a flowing beard, a hearty outdoorsman with a Ho, Ho, Ho! to match, who rides through the skies on Christmas Eve, dropping down chimneys to deliver presents.
But if you look beneath the beard at malls, schools and clubs, you might just find that it's a petite young woman who's spreading cheer and playing St Nick.
Apart from benign schoolteachers and plump housing society aunties who don the red suit for local holiday celebrations, there are a number of women who have turned their act into an art, and earn more than just goodwill for it. Meghna Chitalia, who runs an event management company, Party Planet, has been entrusting the annual Santa ritual to women for the past nine years. Her Santas range from college students to working women "who love children". Not all eager children can tell the difference, but canny ones know the gender of the person behind the beard the moment they're touched. Meghna says some children are on their best behaviour in the presence of a female Santa, and skip the customary bullying that involves pulling Santa's beard or peering into his sack.
With a bushy white beard and a pillow strapped to her belly, event manager Zeba Shaikh looks every inch the sleigh-driver from the North Pole. "Yet children can tell when it is a woman inside the costume," she says. "Unlike male Santas who usually hand out gifts from a distance, women draw them close and speak in honeyed tones," says Shaikh.
Shaikh, who is a conjurer, adds some Christmas magic to her routine. "No big bag slung over my shoulder," she laughs. "I extract presents from seemingly empty boxes or vases. Even children who doubt Santa's existence suddenly turn wide-eyed ," she says.
Meghna's Santas are rather new age in comparison. "Mine wear figure-hugging costumes and are not roly-poly like the traditional Santa," she laughs. "They are very pretty girls. Nowadays many clients don't want a fat Santa."
Event planner Martin D'souza of Mad Hatters has introduced Mumbai's mallgoers to Mrs Claus, also known as Santarina, an American invention. This role - and suit - is easier for younger women to slip into. Wearing a short red dress made of velvet and fur, with mittens, a cap and a permanent smile, Santarina stands by Santa's side while he entertains the children.
"It's actually quite a party even for us actors," laughs 20-year-old Shamima Pereira, a third year student of mass media at St Andrew's College who loves kids and has played Santarina for two years for Mad Hatters.
Crowd control and keeping your fingers crossed while making promises are part of the job description. At a five-star hotel last season, Pereira had to restrain the mad rush of children who wanted to meet the jolly fat man. "I also had to assure some children that I'd deliver their letter demanding a particular gift at Christmas to Santa," she says.
Toddlers are sometimes frightened out of their wits by the sight of a hearty red man with a white, flowing beard bearing down on them. Then it's time for Santarina to step in with her motherly touch, pacify the bawling baby and explain that St Nick is just a gentle giant after all.
bella.jaisinghani@timesgroup.com