Synkroniciti is pleased to welcome back writer and poet Doug Croft from Charlotte, North Carolina, with a delightful memoir essay, “My Dad, Santa Claus,” which was runner-up in our essay contest. After humoring his nine-year-old son who had written a Christmas play, Doug’s father began a tradition. For more than a decade, the family would pile into their cherry red Volkswagen Beetle and stay out of sight while Dad, dressed in his best Santa suit, knocked on doors of families they knew and rang his jingle bells, remembering the names of children and pets, and becoming the “real” Santa of the neighborhood. These memories are not only highlights of Doug’s childhood, but of his friends as well, made even more poignant after his father’s passing. “I’ve been asked to play Santa. I donned the suit a few times and did “okay”. But it was not the same. As beautiful and as high quality as the outfit is, the magic was not in the suit. It was in the man.” Doug has magic, too, in his ability to spin a yarn and draw us all into community.
Read “My Dad, Santa Claus” in our “Family” issue, available here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
Doug Croft writes poetry and essays. His first full-length poetry collection, Exposed Roots, was published in 2023. His work has appeared in multiple anthologies, literary journals and old-school newspapers. He has received two awards in regional writing competitions.
Croft’s poetry has been described as heartfelt, empathetic, patriotic, pointed, and wonderfully human. He has written five sketches which have been performed in various settings. Croft lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, from where he works, writes, spends time with his two adult children, and travels to see live music of as many of his favorite rock ‘n’ roll bands as possible.