What’s it like to have dinner with Santa Claus? Does he wear a bib over his red suit? Do the reindeer hog the mashed potatoes? No one knows Santa better than White Bear Lake’s Bill Foussard, who has hosted an annual Dinner with Santa for the last 27 years, with 13 of those events taking place in White Bear Lake.
Foussard, owner of the White Bear Country Inn and volunteer extraordinaire, invites local senior citizens from care centers and apartments to the inn, where they enjoy a free Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. The best part? The evening is coordinated and hosted by dozens of volunteers, all dressed up as Kris Kringle himself (or as his lovely wife, Mrs. Claus).
Foussard started the Dinner with Santa tradition 27 years ago at his first hotel in St. Cloud. That year, he dressed up as Santa for a visit to a local nursing home and was surprised by how much joy his costume brought to the residents. “After that experience of having a senior say, ‘Santa, don’t go,’ I just thought, let’s do something,” Foussard remembers.
When he bought the White Bear Country Inn in 2000, it seemed natural to start a local version of his successful holiday celebration. Sure enough, with help from local organizations like the White Bear Lake Rotary, the dinner took off. Each year, the inn hosts more than 150 seniors and around 40 Santas.
“Bill gets [volunteers] there year after year,” says Peggy Black, community development director at Cerenity Senior Care. “He just has a way with people and he’s a great organizer.” Black and her team bring a full busload of Cerenity’s residents to the dinner every year, and she marvels at the transformation a little Christmas cheer can bring. “We had one [resident] who was in a bad mood,” Black remembers with a chuckle. “One of the Santas just bent over backwards and doted on her. He sat next to her and helped her with her food … and she turned into the life of the party. He just made her night.”
Bill Foussard says that spirit of helping the community’s seniors feel loved and uplifted is at the core of the event. “We’re all going to be older some day,” he says. “It’s just fun being with [the seniors], making them the center of attention.”
Foussard’s army of Santas help with every logistical detail, from serving food to loading up the vans at the beginning and end of the night. Those details make all the difference, says Peggy Black. “The Santas come back to [Cerenity] with us and help us unload the van, which is wonderful. They’ll even push the [seniors in wheelchairs] back to their rooms and help them take their coats off,” she says. “It’s that extra help we never get on any other outing … the Santas do a wonderful job.”
In addition to hanging out with the Big Guy in Red, dinner guests are treated to a traditional feast: chicken, mashed potatoes, crisp beans and fresh dinner rolls. And don’t forget dessert, which usually includes frosted cake and a delicious assortment of pies.
After the meal, the real fun begins. “We have lots of entertainment,” Foussard says. Acts like the White Bear Lake Area High School-South Campus choir and the Paul Berger Trio provide music, and guests can also rub elbows with St. Paul’s Winter Carnival royalty. There’s a fully accessible dance floor, so even guests with walkers or wheelchairs can take a few spins on the arm of Santa or Mrs. Claus.
Foussard is quick to shrug off any credit for the huge success of his Dinner with Santa, which will be held on December 16 this year. He says he’s grateful to the local fundraisers, entertainers and volunteers—especially the Santas—who make the event run so smoothly. “Everybody does a little bit,” he says. “It’s all community. We all do it together, and that’s what makes White Bear Lake special.”
