A Pint-Sized Santa Gets the Boot at Mall
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A 6-year-old boy who dresses up like Santa Claus and doles out presents has been told by a mall in Bellingham, Wash., to take his holiday cheer somewhere else.
“I was cuter than their Santa,” Joel Demmon said.
The 4-foot-2 first-grader has been donning a red suit and white beard for two years and giving away presents, said his mother, Tracey Demmon. Joel gets the toys from dollar stores and fast-food restaurants.
The boy cried after an employee of Bellis Fair ordered him out, saying he was competing with the mall’s own Santa and creating liability issues, his mother said.
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