‘Behind every jolly Santa is a tired Mrs. Claus’
Local authors give Mrs. Claus her fair share of credit
in their whimsical parody
BY GLORIA STRAVELLI
CHRIS KELLY staff Muffin Drake of West Allenhurst, and her mother, Jeannie Schick-Jacobowitz, of West Long Branch, hope that their new book, “A Bit of Applause for Mrs. Claus,” will become a new Christmas classic.
Staff Writer
Everyone knows Santa puts in a strenuous night on Christmas Eve, then returns to the North Pole for some well-deserved rest. What’s generally overlooked is the behind-the-scenes effort by Mrs. Claus and the Elves that helps Santa pull off his "Night Before Christmas" odyssey.
"Throughout the holiday season, Santa gets the credit, but it seems to be Mrs. Claus who is left in charge to bring about the magic of the Christmas traditions and spirit," said Jeannie Schick-Jacobowitz last week.
The West Long Branch resident, along with daughter Muffin Drake, West Allenhurst, and sister, Susie Schick-Pierce, Virginia, set out to give some credit to the unsung heroine of Christmas in their newly published "A Bit of Applause for Mrs. Claus."
Their whimsical parody of the beloved "‘The Night Before Christ-mas" celebrates Mrs. Claus for the whirlwind of decorating, shopping, wrapping and baking that precedes Santa’s run, then catches up with her upon Santa’s return as he collapses into a chair while she feeds and beds down the reindeer.
"For hundreds of years, Santa has taken the spotlight while Mrs. Claus busily creates the traditions and spirit of the holiday season," noted Drake.
Published by Sourcebooks, the gift book features light-hearted illustrations by Wendy Wallin Malinow and is available locally at Barnes & Noble in West Long Branch and Borders in Eatontown, where a book signing will take place Dec. 20. The small picture book is a sell-out, with all 18,000 copies scooped up by distributors.
"You’re My Friend Be-Claus," a mini-gift book by Jacobowitz and Pierce published in 1996, has sold 200,000 copies to date.
Wendy Wallin Malinow illustrations add to the whimsy of “A Bit of Applause for Mrs. Claus.”
A licensing agent and creator of her own gift line, Jacobowitz said plans for next year call for a line of accessories tied to "A Bit of Applause for Mrs. Claus" and a sequel giving the Elves their due.
According to Jacobowitz, who splits her time between West Long Branch and her family’s farm on Whidbey Island, Wash., a particularly busy holiday season was the inspiration for "A Bit of Applause."
"My sister and I were exhausted, Christmas had passed, and we had gotten no credit for all we had done," Jacobowitz recalled. "We decided we needed to put it into a book as a take-off on ‘ ’Twas the night before Christmas’ and began our book with ‘ ’Twas the night after Christmas … ’ "
Understandably, the manuscript for the book, tended to be a little hard on Santa, admitted Jacobowitz, who was a busy single mother raising three daughters at the time she and Pierce came up with the idea for "A Bit of Applause."
The creative team asked Muffin to add a youthful perspective — and a more benign view of Santa — to the story of the woman behind the spirit of the holiday.
"I helped soften it up," she said. "I wanted to keep it a fun and happy book and I gave it a more light-hearted tone."
The authors sought out an illustrator who would translate the text into humorous images and settled on Malinow’s whimsical take on Mrs. Claus, who sports a frazzled look and an exaggerated beehive hairdo decorated with Christmas lights and holly.
"We’re hoping this book will become a Christmas classic," said Jacobowitz. "We feel Mrs. Claus is the major Christmas character. Without her, nothing would get done, but she’s never been given her fair share.
"A lot of people think it’s a children’s book, but it’s definitely for adults, too. Almost every woman will relate to it."
"I read it at my children’s school and the kids loved it," noted Drake, "and when all was said and done, the teacher loved it, too."
For Drake, "A Bit of Applause" evokes Christmas memories of hectic holiday preparations involving her mother, sisters and a cadre of friends pitching in to carry home and decorate the family’s Christmas tree and decking the West Long Branch carriage house she grew up in festive trimmings.
"Mrs. Claus and the Elves are usually doing everything. When I look back on it, Mrs. Claus thrives on chaos," quipped Drake, acknowledging that her mother is the model for the title character. "She was Mrs. Claus, the elves, the reindeer, everything."
"Most women are," noted Jacobowitz.
"Every year we say we’re not doing it again," admitted Drake.
"It’s something in a woman’s spirit," added her mother.