Get the phone; Santa's calling

Santa is a phone call away, thanks to Jim and Jeanetta Pollard of Kaler and their Web site SantaSpeaks.com.

A few clicks on the site, a credit card number and answers to a questionnaire are all it takes to have the big guy call you or your child on a specified day, including Dec. 25.

"You can feel the excitement in their voices," said Jim, who gets to listen in as Santa calls kids from around the globe.

"Some are real quiet, but others get on there and just go and go."

And do kids and their parents want to hear from Santa?

In the three years the Pollards have helped Saint Nick make phone calls out of their home on Ky. 131, Santa has had requests from every state in America.

With his spray-painted red phone he's called kids in every province of Canada, England, Ireland, France and Italy.

"Spain is the only country we've had to turn down," Jim said. He said Spanish is one language he hasn't been able to help Santa with, yet.

Last year the semi-retired Florida transplants handled almost 1,000 phone calls.

On Christmas Eve alone in 2007, Santa made 134 calls through the Pollards outpost.

"It's all done online," Jeanetta explained.

People choose an available time from an electronic calendar. Then they fill out credit card information and 10 questions such as what a child wants for Christmas, what he or she will get and any useful information about siblings or pets.

"It's positive reinforcement for them to hear from Santa that they shouldn't fight with their sister or bite other kids," Jim said.

Online ordering is just the latest development in a 50-year amateur and professional career as a Santa look-alike for Jim, whose white beard and body features are the classic American image of Saint Nick. Talk shows such as Oprah Winfrey and Montel Williams have featured Jim, a retired business owner, in his full garb.

Jim said Santa's foray into the phone call business began with an errant call.

Jim said a competitor in Iowa started a similar phone service and was featured on NBC's Today show. A confused would-be customer called the Pollards wanting to place a phone call order.

Since then, the Pollards have run with the technologically-savvy Santa theme.

For instance, customers can order MP3 files of the recorded conversation between Santa and the person on the other end of the line.

The Pollards put videos advertising Santa's services on Google Video.

"That's where it's all going, online," Jim said.

And with the business booming alongside technology developments, so has kid craftiness, according to Jeanetta.

"They'll use caller ID and call back to make sure it was Santa calling," Jeanetta said. "We have to be careful."

This story was originally published December 6, 2008 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Get the phone; Santa's calling."