AUBURN — Despite all the years and the sleigh miles, pulling on the iconic red suit and walking in public still makes Santa Claus nervous.

The jolly old elf is a people pleaser.

“Once my suit comes out and I get to put it on, I always have that little bit of butterflies,” Claus said in a side room of the Auburn Mall. “I want to look good. I want to be special to people, to everyone, and make their day.”

The job continues to be “a blessing,” he said recently, talking for a few minutes before his afternoon start at the mall’s center court.

The soft-spoken Claus said he is still astonished by children’s reactions to him, particularly if he can surprise them.

“I watch the eyes,” he said. “The eyes tell me everything. If you can get the deer-in-the-headlights look, I’ve got it,” he said. “For some, it’s like they’re stunned. Their body is frozen for that few seconds. I’ll ask them, ‘Were you surprised to see me this afternoon?'”

“Some will never say a word. If they’re real small, they’ll hitch over to their parents,” he said.

He’s met so many kids, the ones who are too frightened to speak, the chatty ones with the long lists and the older ones with the suspicious expressions and the narrow eyes.

He also gets his share of adults. Some sit on his knee for fun and some have a request for a present.

On this particular afternoon, a bearded man plopped onto the wide red chair beside Claus and talked quietly until a laugh boomed from the famous figure.

“You want a raise?” Claus said. The man laughed, too, and posed for a picture.

Claus said he tries to keep every encounter light, even when he might get sad. He meets children who have very little. And he meets adults with serious problems.

In one such case, a woman sat on his knee and told him she has cancer.

“She came and sat with me and said, ‘I haven’t gone to see you in 25 years. I came and I’m sitting with you and I want my picture with you because I might not be here next year,'” he said.

Claus searches for a way to help her and others.

“To me, it’s like, ‘Can I give something back?'” he said. “Can I make it lighter and make it better for them in some way?”

So often all it takes is a smile and a warm word.

He tries to stay positive, even humming Christmas carols during the quiet times when the line is gone, he said. Favorites include “O Holy Night” and “The Little Drummer Boy.”

When the children appear, he chats for a moment and listens to their requests. This year iPods, American Girl dolls and computer games are big. He never promises a gift.

And there are the regular questions. “Where are the reindeer?” is one.

“I’ve got them up on the roof, and they gave me a special pen,” he said. “I take them carrots during break. The mall makes sure I have a special place.”

Invariably, some child will ask, “Are you real?”

“Yes, I’m real,” he answers. “I’m a real Santa. Because if I wasn’t real, I wouldn’t be able to talk to you. I wouldn’t have fun. I wouldn’t have a chance to ask you how you’re doing and wish you a Merry Christmas. And I care about everybody who comes here.”

“Also, if you pull my beard, it hurts,” he added.

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