Rebecca A Withey: My Santa surprise and Christmas wish for you all (BSL)

Boarding the Santa Express with our two children, my husband and I revelled in the beauty of the train. Twinkly lights were hung everwhere and the train cast out its beautiful light in the darkness of the night.

The train conductor, dressed smartly in navy blue, tapped his hat and gestured for us to take our seats inside. The carriages were small with charming wooden seats and the smell of the steam train took me back to my childhood when I visited old fashioned railways with my grandparents.

It looked as though we were the only deaf parents booked onto this time slot and the Assistants  – I mean, the Elves – seemed to catch on that we were both sign language users. My husband and I had booked this trip at short notice, realising that as our kids were 8 and 10, they may not enjoy the Santa magic for much longer.

We didn’t request any sign language interpretations or discounts upon booking for being deaf – hey, we didn’t even use the deaf card! – we simply settled into the experience expecting the children to make the most of it and for us to enjoy watching them.

When we first arrived the children were invited to write letters to Santa and post them in an interactive light up Post Box. We then boarded the glorious train where I joked that all we needed was Tom Hanks (as in Polar Express) to come round and offer us all a “Hot, Hot Chocolate.”

Even without Tom Hanks, the journey was beautiful and after a little while we arrived at Santa’s Village to snow, music and reindeers. Seeing the kids faces light up and their laughter was enough for us.

The children then got to enjoy the activities in the village. Meeting Mrs Claus they made,  decorated and ate gingerbread cookies. They also went into the Reindeer Snacks workshop where they chose which reindeer to make a snack for before scooping all kinds of oats and seeds into a silk bag to take home.

The instructions for all of the activities were already written down to follow so we were able to read this and help out too.

The kids enjoyed some fairground rides and even a VR sleighride before we tucked into hot drinks and had our photos taken around the tallest, prettiest Christmas tree.

All that was left for us to do was to visit Santa.

Internally, my husband and I prepared ourselves for the awkwardness to come. We were all too familiar with the look of surprise/confusion from Santa’s Elves when they realise that deaf parents have entered the grotto.

After queuing up for a while and watching in amusement as an excited Elf asked each and every child that entered the same “how excited are you, this much, this much or that much?!” we were beckoned to head inside Santa’s Grotto.

The children walked in first and my husband and I stood to one side. Santa chatted to them for a short while before looking at us expectantly. Had he said something? Had he asked us a question? Should I blag an answer or ask him to repeat himself?

I took a few steps closer and then saw our daughter tell Santa “My Mum and Dad are deaf, like me – I’m deaf in one ear, but they need to use sign language to understand you as you have a big beard.”

I froze on the spot, partly from embarassment that my daughter had chided Santa for his beard and also from the awkwardness of not knowing how he would react.

Then – as if like magic – Santa turned to my husband and I and began to sign, fluent sign language.

I’m not sure whether I gasped outloud but I remember how my eyes pricked with tears and my husband and I smiled at each other in a mixture of amazement, surprise and gratitude.

Santa asked whether we knew our daughter wanted rollerblades and questioned whether she could already skate. He told us our son requested Lego (not a phone, thank goodness!) and how his Elves loved building Lego too.

He joked about preferring chocolate as his Christmas Eve treat and told us a story about how Rudolph always gets left all the carrots so he shares with all the other reindeer so nobody feels left out.

From the moment our daughter revealed that we were deaf Santa continued to sign as well as speak and he included us in everything that was said. There was no ‘it doesn’t matter’ or ‘I’ll tell you later,’ and our opinions were asked and valued. We felt seen.

As my husband and I shuffled out of Santa’s grotto, I commented that it ‘must have been the real Santa!’

Travelling home we emailed to give the Santa Express a highly positive review and discovered that there were actually a number of Santa’s who work at that venue. There were actually 5 different Santa’s and it just so happened that the one we saw was the only one who could sign.

Was it luck? Coincidence? Or Christmas magic?

This whole lovely experience made me realise how appreciative I feel – as a deaf person – when someone makes an effort to meet me half way communication wise.

The hearing world take it for granted that I lipread and can use my voice and read English, but all of these things are tiring. BSL is my preferred language and is a failproof method of communicating with me regardless of background noise, voice volume, beards or otherwise.

So, thank you Santa for this wonderful encounter and it’s my wish that all deaf people could have this for Christmas – a beautiful inclusive experience where they know their value, feel their worth and are able to express themselves.

Rebecca x