This year’s Black Santa season started early for me when a loyal listener gifted me with a handmade ornament. The chocolate brown, smiling Santa has a red hat adorned with a branch of holly berries tucked into the brim, and written on the back are these sweet words: “I’m flying my sleigh and reindeer Under the Radar,” a reference to my weekly radio show Under the Radar with Callie Crossley.
That was the week before Thanksgiving, and I hadn’t yet decorated my office with Black Santas from my extensive collection — a tradition that started in 2019.
Now, I’m fully embracing Black Santa season. I’ve hung my new ornament among the nearly 70 Black Santas standing, sitting, climbing or hanging on my shelves, floor, desk and door. There’s a new one standing sentry outside my office, and I even cleared off an extra shelf to add more cocoa-colored Kris Kringles to my overall display of pot-bellied jolliness.
My 2025 Black Santa display includes a few new guys tucked in among old favorites. Lots of folks requested the return of specific Black Santas. Everyone told me they especially wanted to see the animatronic Santa repeatedly carrying his string of lights up and down his stairs. And there was much enthusiasm for a saxophone Santa, his gold instrument contrasted by his cool, jazzy silver clothes. Of course, my treasured first Black Santa is on the shelf — a present from a family friend who made him, unwittingly kicking off my decades-long quest for mahogany Saint Nicks.
My colleague Henry Santoro was the first to see this year’s entire panoply of ebony Santas, or Blantas, as he’s dubbed them. He stood in the middle of the room, mesmerized by the tiny and tall effigies clothed in their vibrant tapestries of red, silver and gold, with skin tones ranging from deepest chocolate to sepia, mahogany, burnt sienna and bronze. It’s always so much fun to welcome my coworkers into my annual Black Santa Wonderland, which by now is years in the making and more than 300+ figures strong, gathered from around the country and the world.
Each year it gets harder for me to find a Santa special enough to join my community of Black Saint Nicks, even though I’m constantly on the lookout. Since I began curating my office exhibition and sharing it publicly via social media, I’ve found community with other passionate collectors, from superstar Rihanna to neighborhood mega-collectors. And by now, there are untold numbers of Black Santas out there in the world. I just spotted a Black Santa during an episode of the CBS soap opera “Beyond the Gates.” And a couple of weeks ago, greater Boston photographer Tim Rice captured the first visit by a real-life Black Santa at the Medway Public Library.
Black Santas reflect the faces of many kids and adults like me, who long for positive cultural images. What’s more, they never fail to transport me back to the unbridled glee of my childhood. For these last few days of the holiday season, you’ll find me basking in the warmth of Black Santa joy.
