It's four weeks until Christmas and Bernadette Dimitrov, Australia's first Mrs Claus, sits in her living room and reflects upon the star atop one of the 11 Christmas trees she keeps up all year round.
"The star is one of my favourite symbols," she says. "A symbol of light, luminosity and conscious transformation. Light illuminates and creates a sense of magic, imagination and wonder. I never stop wondering about possibilities…"
And Dimitrov has certainly transformed a great deal in her lifetime. Previously a disability, youth and childcare worker, inspirational speaker, magician, and one-time laughter yoga teacher, she now spreads the Christmas message as Mrs Claus 52 weeks a year.
Even when it's not Christmas, Dimitrov enjoys dressing up in secret Santa disguises and performing random acts of kindness, including leaving money on seats, pulling out the weeds in people's gardens and going on 'smile walks', smiling at everyone she sees.
"Even for those who don't smile back, I know I've left them some positive energy, a gift I feel good about," she says.
While she has no children of her own, family and friends (who know her as Mrs C or Mrs Santa) are all highly amused, yet supportive of her vocation — a calling which Dimitrov admits was first motivated by the mid-life crisis she experienced seven years ago.
Becoming Mrs Claus
The 50-year old remembers she found her current career path after a messy divorce that, like so many in the same situation, left her feeling "lost and empty."
Although she was working in an area she loved with disabled people at the time, she "wanted to do more on a bigger scale", and resolved to return to what "really made her heart sing deeply" — her childhood love of Christmas.
Bullied as a child for her bottle-top glasses and crew-cut hairstyle, Dimitrov says she would have found the years at Catholic girls school a lonely time except for her "imaginary friends in her magical wonderland — Santa land."
"Oh what adventures I went on at playtime," she reminisces. "It was so much fun escaping into the imaginary fantasy world of my mind!"
Her divorce in 2004 became the catalyst for her re-immersion into Santa land. Dimitrov began reading books on global Christmas traditions, symbols and their meanings under the covers at night, so as not to disturb anyone at her sister's house where she was living.
Around the same time, she undertook studies at Santa school by correspondence, and started broadcasting her own radio podcast show 'Conversations with Mrs Claus'; now heard in 90 countries around the world.
The first Aussie Mrs Claus
In 2010, Dimitrov was the first Australian woman to graduate with a Bachelor of SantaClausology from The International University of Santa Claus in the USA.
"The course is really all about being ‘behind the red suit', the business of being Santa," says Dimitrov, who is hoping to continue and get her Masters in SantaClausology next year.
"We learn the origins of Santa Claus, how to talk with children, how to address those that don't believe… how to 'ho ho ho' for different ages so you don't scare babies."
She is now proud to assume the alter-ego of our nation's first Mrs Claus, and she has certainly come a long way since the K-mart costume-wearing days of her first Santa convention.
With the help of a network of inspirational Santas and Mrs Clauses from around the world, she has since refined her look, polished her performance and honed her 'ho ho ho'.
2010 was also a busy year for the newly-skilled Mrs Claus who represented Australia on stage at the world's first ever Mrs Claus and Santa fashion parade and the Santa-style snow tube Olympics on the slopes of Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
The cherry on the pudding came last year when Dimitrov was made a member of the Advisory Board for Santa America Australia: a non-profit organization that produce specially trained Santa volunteers to bring hope and joy year-round to special needs children and families in crisis.
The gift of Christmas
When asked what the meaning of Christmas really is, Dimitrov (who is not religious, despite her upbringing) says "It does not matter whether you believe in the Christmas story or not. Christmas transcends language, culture and even religious beliefs."
"On a more personal level, the celebration offers the opportunity for an inner transformation," she says. "When we transform our inner world we magically transform our outer world."
"Somewhere along the way as an adult, I lost my smile and become way too serious," she says. "Now I believe there is a gift in every situation if you look for it."
For instance, her blessing in disguise seven years ago: "I'm grateful that my then husband decided to move on because it was the catalyst to opening me up to my now greatest joys in life."
"Santa is the spirit that reminds us of what is really important in life — happiness, laughter, acceptance, love, sharing and generosity of heart… This is the spirit that needs to be ignited and never lost, young or old."
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