Santa Stick

by Todd Neufeld

 

Get ready -- the busy holiday season is almost here. I'll never forget the first time I was working at a busy holiday party and the H.R. director asked me for a santa balloon. "Uh oh," I thought. "This is going to be a seriously detailed figure. Santa has a funny hat, black boots, buttons, a big gut, a black belt with a yellow buckle, arms, legs, gloves, spectacles, ruffles, and more. How can I both please my client and deal with the gathering masses?"

I'll let you in on the secret that makes this all possible. As long as you capture the basic look of the spectator's request, you later evoke the image of the complete figure in their mind. This is because they begin with a picture in their mind, and want you to mirror that picture out of balloons. So if your figure is close enough, it will remind them of their original mental picture, and the two will be connected in their mind. In the short-term, you have successfully fulfilled their request. In the long-term, your figure will be mis-remembered as being much closer to their original request. The spectator will fill in the details later! Combine this with the power of suggestion, and you will get credit for being more inventive that you really are. For example, on the holiday party circuit, as you start twisting a basic Santa figure tell them all of the details that you want them to remember later: Say, "I love creating a Santa, he has so many features, such as a beard, hat, costume, and more. And here he is ___" [present the figure].

On other occasions, you will want to add a Santa figure to accessorize another piece. So if Santa is just one part of a larger, more complicated figure you don't have to give him all of the detail he need if he were in the limelight.

Of course, it is possible and fun to make the complete detailed Santa. But if you don't have the time or inclination then just capture his look. I do it with two balloons, and call it my Santa Stick. Here are the step-by-step directions:

 

Step 1

Step 2

You only need two balloons!

One red 350 and one white 260. Inflate them both leaving a few inches uninflated. Squeeze the red 350 balloon so it is soft.

   Make a 2.5" bubble at the knot end of the red balloon. This will be the top of the hat.

Step 3

  

Step 4
Now twist three soft bubbles, all the same size. They should be about 2" to 2.5" each.   Make a roll-through with the three bubbles you just created. I twist the first two together, and roll the third through them. Be careful, this is where the 350 tends to break. If it does, try is again with a softer balloon (meaning with less air in it).

Step 4 (again)

  

Step 5
Here is what the roll-through looks like as it being completed.This is the base of the hat.   Tie the knot of the white balloon to the base of the roll-through. It should be closer to the remainder of the red 350 than to the knot.

Step 6

  

Step 7

Twist a 2" bubble in the white balloon. Then a soft 1.5" bubble, followed by a soft 1" bubble.

You have just created one eye, half of a mustache, and cheek/ear.

 

Pinch twist the soft 1" bubble from the previous step, and follow it with a 10" bubble.

The 10" bubble should be long enough to wrap all around the 350, something you will do in a moment.

Step 8

  

Step 9

Make another soft 1" bubble and pinch-twist it.

Then make a 3" bubble.

 

Wrap the 10" section around the red balloon and connect the twist from the 3" bubble to the pinch-twist that you made in Step 7.

You should end up in the position shown above with one hand holding onto the 3" bubble and pinch-twist from Step 8, the long 10" section going around the red 350, and the remainder of the white hanging down.

Step 10

  

Step 11

To complete the mouth/beard, form a 4.5" bubble in the white balloon from the first pinch-twist to the second.

Be sure that the white balloon is below the 3" bubble from step 8, but still lies along the red 350. Since it a bit longer than the 3" bubble above, it should form a subtle curve.

  

Twist two more bubbles in the white 260. The first one should be a soft 1.5" bubble, and the second a 2" bubble. These should match the first two that you twisted in Step 6.

But don't connect them to anything yet! Just get the sizes right.

Step 12

  

Step 13

To form the second half of the mustache, connect the soft 1.5" bubble you just made from Step 11 to the twist between the first two bubbles that you made in Step 6.

You will have to run the remainder of the white balloon underneath the bubbles that are already there and pull it through.

  

Attach the twist at the end of the 2" bubble from Step 11 to the base of the red roll-through.

Push the air to the end of the white balloon (it will probably be there by now after all of those bubbles) and snip.

Step 14

  

Step 15

Tie the balloon after the second 2" bubble to the piece that is already tied to the roll-through. This forms the second eye, and secures everything. Then tuck the knot inside the roll-through.

Throughout all of your tying, don't lose the little bubble from the end of the white 260.

   Tie the bubble from the end of the white 260 (from Step 13) to the knot of the 350 forming the pom-pom at the top of the hat.

Step 16

  

Step 17
Push a bubble of air to the end of the red 350. Snip it, tying both ends.   You should have a small round red bubble in one hand, and a shortened length of 350 in the other. The red bubble is the nose.

Step 18 -- Finished!

   Congratulations, you are finished with the Santa Stick!

Tie the nose from Step 17 to the intersection of the eyes and mustache. Draw on some eyeballs.

 

    

 

Okay -- now that you have finished the Santa Stick, what is next? Well, either proudly hand it out, or use it as part of a larger ensemble. You can put Santa in a wreath. He can ride a reindeer. Or sit on a sleigh. Or come out of a chimney. Or be stuck on a hat. Use your imagination and the fun will be limitless.

If you have any questions about this figure, send me an email or come to my classes at Twist and Shout or IBAC. Have a busy and happy holiday season.

 

 

Santa in a wreath

  

Santa on a reindeer
One idea   And another.

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