Snow Maiden with a difficult fate
Santa Claus Nikolay Omelchenkov has been working as an animator in Novgorod for thirteen years. A few years ago, he had to “surprisely” take shifts with the Snow Maiden. New Year’s Eve “grandson” was a girl named Olga, who got a job as an animator at their company two weeks ago.
“We worked together for a week, she loved children, found a common language with them and in general was a very nice girl – kind and pleasant. But when we went to congratulate the boy on the January holidays at the end of the circles in the list, he started acting strange as soon as we walked in. He kept averting his eyes, embarrassed, even then he pushed me but I thought, you never know, maybe there are some of your friends who don’t know about such a part-time job and he would be embarrassed. I continued to work, listened to poetry in general, gave gifts, guests, according to tradition, offered us drinks, ”said Omelchenkov.
According to her, at first she and the Snow Maiden refused, but were nevertheless persuaded to buy a “cup”. And then, when the grandfather and his “grandson” missed by twos, the head of the family suddenly approached Nikolai and offered to smoke in the stairwell before leaving.
“We dated him, so here he tells me that my partner works as a prostitute and was once his client. He even showed me a photo of her on a private website. I fell into such a sediment – I stood up and did not know what to say.
Once the initial shock subsided, I promised to definitely discuss this with my superiors. I finished the cigarette, went into the house, Olya immediately took it. As soon as the door closed behind us, I told him everything the host had told me. I immediately warned him that I had to tell management because that wasn’t the case at all.
And everything I expected, but it didn’t happen. Olya started knocking on the door, and when the head of the family opened the door, she held her face screaming that she ruined everything, they just say that she got a normal job, and this “goat” is ruining her life. There the wife jumped, Olya told her that her husband is still a walker, all this, of course, in hysteria. Here his wife joined in, she began to bully her husband, beat him, make claims about where the money went. I usually threw Olya over my shoulder under her guise and left with her as another mess started there. She calmed him down in the car, drank cognac with him, cried, told about his difficult fate, that he had just started a new life, that now he would have to quit. At the time I promised not to tell the authorities but he himself did not want to work, you never know who else will know. We broke up a few hours later and I never saw him again. Apparently, he later moved to Moscow, ”said Nikolai Omelchenkov.
Hangover Santa and herringbone flavors
Animator Daria Alekseyonok worked part-time for several years at Moscow matinees as the Snow Maiden – and there were awkward moments in her work, too. One of them was most remembered by the girl.
“I worked for an organization that held Christmas trees and matinees. We were busy on all holidays including January 1st. Just when I go to work that day not knowing who will be my partner – Luckily, Santas are always different. Then one of my nightmares came true – I had to work with a hangover grandpa.
Smoke smelled throughout the hall where the celebration was held. We did not know what to do, the children were coming soon, we urgently needed to look for a way out. The decision sounded unusual, but, as it turned out, it was effective. We bought car fresheners – “Christmas trees” from the nearest store and hung them around the hall. Neither the children nor the parents noticed anything – they rejoiced at how beautiful and New Year’s smell of the Christmas tree. Yes, how about that, ”remembered Alekseyonok.
According to the girl, it did not end there. Santa fell asleep on his throne as the Snow Maiden, listening to poetry and performing round dances with his assistants.
“She sat down with a red nose and woke up only when they approached her to be photographed. But at least it’s good that he didn’t open his mouth. Although I am personally offended. Santas pay more than Snow Maidens, but in the end she sleeps and I give presents, ”said the animator.
First “on the way” and only then “planted”
Animators sometimes marvel at the antics of clients. A few years ago, Father Frost Timofey Drozdov from Smolensk came to the family for a holiday, when many guests gathered, and four children should be congratulated at once.
“The apartment owners’ child was named Tolya. He decided to sing the nursery rhyme first, and when his rather drunken father brought him a stool, the boy still could not stand on it – one leg was shaking. Then Rinat, the father of the family, decided to bring another one from the balcony. He insisted that it was important to him that the child stood on a stool and not on an ordinary chair, because it was tradition.
In general, my father went to the balcony, and literally a minute after leaving we heard the sound of glass breaking and then a loud fall. I stood closest to the room with the balcony, I ran there first. Rinat fell on a vase and smashed to the floor cursing. I immediately lifted him up, started asking him if he was hurting, and as he reassured me that everything was okay, I noticed blood on my beard out of the corner of my eye. He immediately turned Rinat’s back to him, and a large piece came out of his lower back – above his hips. Still reaching for him with his hands, I hit them, I say do not touch, lie down quietly, now we will call an ambulance. As soon as it was laid on its stomach, all guests, including children, arrived on time to the sounds. And then the real theater of the absurd began, ”said Drozdov.
Father Frost, along with the Snow Maiden, took the children away, finally leaving his “grandson” to entertain them, while the guests, competing with each other, called the ambulance, looked at the victim’s wound and actively commented “on it.” horror.”
“I entered the room just at the moment when Rinat was tearing off a large piece of himself, five centimeters wide and about ten long, with the words, “Come on, splash the peroxide and stick it with a Band-Aid.” There was even a bit of oil on the splinter.
Seeing this, the women competed with each other to scream, and she, with a completely innocent and incomprehensible look, climbs into this wound with her fingers and tries to touch it to realize “how scary” it is. And literally no pieces of meat.
But this is not the most striking thing, he always lifts his head from the pillow while waiting for the ambulance, only asking for “feet”. And when the doctors arrived, he demanded more “for the staff”, reassuring that he urgently had to go to the hospital to stitch up the wound, promised to be back in an hour and punished him for not shed without it. As a result, the children were given gifts, and Father Frost said that he took my father away and promised to return when he helped distribute all the gifts, ”recalled Timofey Drozdov.
the forgotten boy and the foam squirrel
The five-year work of Alina Troitskaya as an assistant to Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden in the Moscow “Christmas trees” also often “lighted up” by force majeure. For example, at one of the events, a group from another city forgot a child at the celebration.
“There was a busy shift – the first season in which electronic booking was introduced, so the cashier sold tickets to several groups of children at once, which exceeded the norm. There were many boys, we somehow managed to take them to tea parties, then master classes, and suddenly I saw a little boy of about six years old. She cried uncontrollably, she couldn’t really say anything, but one thing was clear – she had disappeared. They called out to all the groups, but no one recognized the child. By this time, the boy had already calmed down and said that he was fighting on his own because of the turmoil with different groups and the large number of children. And it was about half an hour ago, so his group definitely broke up.
As a result, they began searching for everyone present at the event. And so it turned out that a group from Tula forgot a child and was already halfway home. Thank god they came back for the kid.
But I still can’t imagine how it is possible to treat children so carelessly and not count them before leaving. Since then, we have always asked all group leaders to make sure they count the children. Although it seems like the most important rule that is clear even to a fool, ”Troitskaya said.
And he shared another story that happened to him on January 1st.
According to the girl, those who come to work, usually drunk or hungover, right after New Year’s Eve, are put to work as life-size puppets. And so it happened to one of his colleagues, Alexander.
“The costume of a life-size doll greatly complicates the movement – vision is limited due to the position of the doll’s eyes, and the foam rubber is very heavy, especially since the belly you put on it comes apart. That day, Alexander in this suit coped perfectly. I was standing next to him while he was entertaining the one-mile ticket queue, and suddenly I saw how he went with his grandson to a slightly drunk grandpa. It was funny when Sasha came up to him and put his paw on his shoulder and asked: are you warm, grandpa, are you warm blue? Grandpa shuddered, turned his head, frightened, then chuckled, and exclaimed: “Are you a squirrel?”
And then they say, he wasn’t expecting you so soon. Sasha told him to be careful during the holidays, otherwise they will meet again soon. Everyone laughed, and Sasha, glad that people were entertaining her, continued.
And after a few meters he slipped and fell on his back right next to a big Christmas tree. He was struggling, couldn’t get up from the foam rubber, and we assistants were either busy or didn’t see him. At that moment I was myself talking to my family and I couldn’t get up, I just saw it out of the corner of my eye, barely holding back my laughter, how somehow he gets up on all fours. One of the guests noticed her and finally helped her up. Sasha did not come drunk anymore – I wish the doll costume had passed her, ”said Alina Troitskaya.