We are only a few days into December and there have already been multiple sightings throughout the villages of Santa trying to break into people’s homes.
Santa—who goes by the alias Pai Natal in Portugal—wears a red suit, carries a suspicious sack, and always brings a rope ladder with him to aid in his surprise entries.
Perhaps there are biscuits in his sack, as he apparently knows how to charm the guard dogs. They don’t even bark anymore if they see him hanging from the balconies, steps, roofs, and gutters of their houses!
Kristin Fellows is an award-winning writer, a well-seasoned documentary film consultant, a colorful illustrator, and the author of A Storyboard Life: From $20 to 200 Documentary Film Adventures, the Journey of a Creative Person — available in January 2026!
Original art by Kristin Fellows
More about Kristin @ www.kristinfellowswriter.com
Many of these santas look underfed and somewhat deflated... a couple of rabanadas and a caldo verde wouldn’t go amiss!
These burgling Santas are also popular in Switzerland. It took me a few seasons to not always do a double take when I spied them. Can you imagine these decorations in the US? People would be calling the police constantly! (or, more likely these days, shooting them, then calling the police...)