Tom Musinsky hit the streets Christmas Day to deliver last-minute holiday packages.
By: Linda Seida
LAMBERTVILLE A visit from Santa just ain’t what it used to be.
There was no sleigh packed with goodies. No flying reindeer, not even one with a red nose.
What Santa did employ this year to get him from chimney to chimney in the city was an LLV that’s a Long Life Postal Vehicle for those unfamiliar with North Pole lingo.
Assisted by a television camera crew instead of toy-making elves, Santa hit the streets in broad daylight, carrying a sack bulging with about 25 Express Mail and Priority Mail packages.
"It was a great day, let me tell you," recalled Santa Claus, a.k.a. Tom Musinsky of the Lambertville Post Office.
He had residents doing a double take as he strolled the city’s streets to deliver their last-minute gifts.
"I swear I just saw Santa Claus," one man said when he spotted something red outside his window Christmas morning, according to Postmistress Ronelle Mihok.
"I think the neighborhood kind of got a kick out of it," she said.
So, too, did Ms. Mihok. She laughed as she recalled her co-worker outfitted as the plump and jolly old elf.
Did the Santa impersonator need a lot of padding to fill out the red suit?
"He didn’t need too much of it," she said, teasing him. "He certainly has the face for it. He’s very jolly looking."
She added, "Every time he went to a door, everybody was hooting and hollering. He even went to an elderly community, Little Haven Rest Home, and delivered a couple of packages there. It was kind of cute."
Mr. Musinsky, a Trenton resident, has worked at the Lambertville Post Office for four years, according to the postmistress.
"He just loves the town," she said.
And what did Mr. Musinsky think of his Christmas Day duties?
"I was nervous at first because of the TV cameras," he said. "They were telling me to do this, park over there," he said of the crew from cable’s CN8, who followed him and filmed the holiday deliveries. "I had hair in my mouth. I couldn’t see well. The hat and the wig it was actually getting warm."
As he went about his job, spending two hours on the streets in costume, it didn’t take long for his nervousness to fade.
"I felt good. I had fun," he said. "It’s amazing how you can get into character."
Residents seemed to love the surprise of finding Santa walking among them Christmas morning.
"People were walking down the street and waving, or blowing their car horns," Mr. Musinsky recalled. "That was pretty cool."
But the best part, he said, came as he was leaving one house in particular, after he’d delivered a package.
The adults of the house already had given their thanks, said their farewells and shut the door. His duty done, Mr. Musinsky turned to leave.
Behind him, a girl, maybe 4 years old, flung the door back open. She hurriedly called out, "I love you, Santa!"
With pride in his voice for a job well done, he said, "It felt great."
Nope, a visit from Santa ain’t what it used to be. This season, especially for one of Lambertville’s younger set, it was warmer and more special, thanks to Mr. Musinsky’s personal touch.

