Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Add Upworthy to your Google News feed.
Google News Button

Santa's job is to spread joy around the world. However, a new podcast, Niche To Meet You, by producer Leslie Thompson, is exploring Santa's other role: part-time therapist. The 3-part miniseries takes a deeper look into the world of professional Santa Clauses and the sometimes heavy talks and secrets that kids share with them.

A heartfelt conversation between Leslie and Santa Ben captured the profound emotional impact playing Santa presents them and how they navigate the emotional toll of the role. "Leslie chatted with Santa Ben, who told her a story about the kinds of questions every Santa has to be ready to answer," the TikTok post's caption reads.


In the video, Leslie is interviewing Santa Ben about a conversation between him and another Santa about the heavy and heart-wrenching requests some kids bring to him.

@nichetomeetyou.show

Santa knows a lot of things. He knows when you're sleeping, he knows if you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good. But Santa never knows what's going to come out of a child's mouth when they sit on his lap. Leslie chatted with Santa Ben who told her a story about the kinds of questions every Santa has to be ready to answer. Hear more about the people who portray Santa on Niche To Meet You's three-part Santa miniseries, available now on Apple Podcasts. #christmas #christmascountdown #christmaspodcast #santa #nichetok #hobby #hobbies #happyholidays

"You shared a story about going to Santa School and you unexpectedly found yourself crying," Leslie starts. Ben then shares, "Yes. When people come to see us...some of those stories are very touching. Children that want dad to be back. Some ask for world peace, believe it or not! That's kind of an easy one."

From there, he explained that he often feels powerless when he hears heartbreaking questions. "You're Santa, you want to do more, but you can only do so much. When I would hear those things, it just tore me up," he shares.

He adds that a fellow Santa he was attending school with asked him, "How you doing?" And Santa Ben said to him, "'I'm doing okay.'" But his fellow Santa pressed him again for his true emotions." How are you doing?' He caught me, eh?" says Ben.

He reveals that he 'fessed up to his fellow Claus, becoming more vulnerable about how deeply emotional being Santa truly is.

"I said, look. I spend half my time, eyes watering and bawling--I'm not that guy! And in the other half, I'm roaring and having fun.I said, 'Is there something wrong with me?' And he laid back in his chair and said, 'Not a thing. It means you're the right man for the job.'"

In another touching clip, Leslie interviews another Santa, Santa True, who shares a story about a woman he met with dementia.

@nichetomeetyou.show

Celebrity Santa @Santa.True tells a story about a powerful moment of connection while being a professional Santa Claus. You can hear True’s and many other Santa’s stories on Niche To Meet You’s three-part Santa miniseries, available now on Apple Podcasts. #christmas #christmascountdown #christmaspodcast #santa #nichetok #hobby #hobbies #happyholidays

"I say, 'Hello young lady! It's so good to see you again. How are you doing?' And she starts talking to me. I give her a candy cane and I shake her hand, and I say, 'Now be good! No more naughtiness, okay?' And she says, 'Oh I'll be good!' Then on my way out, three of the staff came running up to me. I said, 'What's wrong?' And they said, 'She's been here six months. That's the first time she's spoken.'"

Santa True concluded the interview with touching words about the powerful impact Santas can have. "It's a very powerful art form. But when you have somebody who actually walks the walk, and believes that they're there for their fellow human beings, it is powerful beyond belief."

And TikTokers could not agree more. One commented, "This is beautiful 😭"; another added, "You go, Santa!"

More For You

A landlord records himself raising a tenant's rent.

Landlord Raul Bolufe informs a tenant over the phone that her rent will more than double.

Landlord doubled her rent, then made the mistake of bragging about it on TikTok

A Miami landlord is under fire after attempting to more than double a longtime tenant’s rent—and broadcasting the whole thing on TikTok.

Raul Bolufe, a real estate content creator who posts under @therealraulbolufe, shared a series of videos showing a phone call with a tenant who’s lived in the same home for over a decade. He informs her that her rent will increase from $1,100 to $2,500 a month.

Keep ReadingShow less
Woman gets perfect revenge on debt collectors who demanded to speak to her dead dad
Representative photo by Canva

Woman gets perfect revenge on debt collectors who demanded to speak to her dead dad

Handling the debts of a deceased family member can often become a stressful ordeal, particularly when creditors insist on speaking with someone who has passed away. Recently, Reddit user u/georgetgwtbn shared her unusual experience, detailing how she carefully managed almost all of her late father's financial obligations. However, things took a strange turn when a debt collection agency demanded to speak directly to her father—despite him having passed away several years earlier. This peculiar insistence prompted her to grant their request in a uniquely memorable way.


Keep ReadingShow less
Actor James Avery; The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air logo

Uncle Phil, played by actor James Avery, on the sitcom Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Kingkongphoto/Wikipedia

Why millennials are saying Uncle Phil from The Fresh Prince is the greatest TV dad ever

Sitcoms hit a peak in the 80s and 90s—and most Millennials can claim that they 'grew up' with them. A lot of time it was the father figures in these TV shows who proved to be standout characters, but one dad captured Millennials hearts over all the rest: Uncle Phil, played by actor James Avery in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Uncle Phil was deemed the best sitcom dad by Millennials, and he earned the title from one of his show's most impactful scenes from the episode "Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse" that aired in May 1994.

In it, Will (played by actor Will Smith) spends time with his dad Lou, who has been absent for the past 14 years. Uncle Phil is distrustful of Lou and protective over his nephew Will. So when Lou decides to dip out on a trip he planned with Will, Uncle Phil steps into Will's pain and supports him. It plays out as one of the most emotional scenes Millennials can remember–making Uncle Phil the best TV dad in their eyes.

Keep ReadingShow less

Dad explains how he 'protects' daughter by taking her into the women's bathroom

While some states have made great progress in improving the child changing stations in men's bathrooms, many still lag behind. A few years ago, father Charles Mau went viral when he shared the appalling conditions he encountered while changing his daughter.

That's why Chronicles of Daddy blogger Muhammed Nitoto decided to share his solution to the problem: taking his daughter into the women's bathroom instead. In a viral Instagram post, Nitoto explained that he does so to "protect" his daughter from "all things that aren't for them, and the men's bathroom is 100% one of those things."

Keep ReadingShow less

The Challenger disaster unfolded live on TV. Their last words remain unforgettable.

Space exploration has always carried great risks, but few tragedies have been as devastating as the Challenger disaster. On January 28, 1986, the STS-51L mission took off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying seven crew members who had trained for months for their journey into space.

Just 73 seconds after liftoff, the Challenger shuttle disintegrated, taking the lives of everyone on board. The last recorded words from the crew—spoken in the seconds before the explosion—have since become a chilling part of spaceflight history.

Keep ReadingShow less