When a chatty little girl visited Father Christmas, the last thing Paul Haslam expected to be on her wish list was a boob job.

“They were two sisters, about two and five, and the older one was doing all the talking,” the professional Santa Claus tells Sky News.

A Barbie dreamhouse, some Teletubbies toys and sweets were all on the five-year-old’s Christmas list.

“I said to her, ‘Thank you, is that all?’ And she thought for a moment and went: ‘Mummy wants a boob job’,” he says, laughing.

“You should have seen the dad’s face.”

Paul has been working as Santa for 16 years, a side hustle he started after spotting a poster in his local garden centre recruiting a “tubby guy to come work for us in four weeks in December”.

“I thought it sounded like a laugh,” he says. “The first time I did it I was absolutely hooked.

“I was in the grotto for eight hours and when I came out, I said to the guy in charge, ‘that was so much fun, I should be paying you’.”

‘The sack didn’t open’

His career as Mr Claus has even taken him to the stage with Mariah Carey.

“I got a call asking what I was doing the next day, and was told Mariah was performing in Manchester and her Santa had let her down.

“The proviso was, make sure you’ve got your sack – they’re going to fill it with cuddly toys and you and Mariah will throw them into the crowd.”

But when the big moment came, the sack didn’t open.

“The guy who had tightened it was her bodyguard, he was huge, and it took us ages to get it open.”

‘Sausage factories’

Gary Cordes, a former solicitor, also took up being a Santa as a fun way to fill retirement.

He too started out in garden centres, but says the heavy footfall venues are just “sausage factories”.

“It is about people being pushed through, no time to talk to the children,” he says.

“In one, I was stuck in this windowless room for nine hours and was absolutely wrecked by the end of it. I want to engage with the families, actually have time with them.”

Similarly, Paul says he once worked in a venue that told him he had to get each family in and out in 30 seconds.

“They just wanted to take people’s money and get them out.”

Gary now works at larger venues, including recently at the O2 Arena during Disney On Ice, as well as working corporate events.

“I love to interact with the kids, I try and move around the room or sit on the floor in front of the fireplace. They don’t often expect Santa to move around,” he says.

‘My son thinks I am helping Santa’

Simon Young is young in every sense – at 37, he’s on the lower end of the age scale to work as a Santa. But when their existing Santa dropped out two years ago at Reuthe’s The Lost Garden Of Sevenoaks, he agreed to be a last-minute replacement.

“Because Santa is usually quite old, as you go into winter that can be quite unreliable with dropping out because of flu, or illness, and that’s what happened to us. We had three days to find someone.”

Simon has five children, aged from six to 16, and his youngest still believes in Father Christmas

“He knows I am Santa but thinks that the real Santa asked me for help to see the children here. He thinks the real Santa comes to see me, drops off loads of presents and I then give them out to other children.”

Recently, his youngest son came home saying a fellow pupil on the playground had told him Santa wasn’t real.

His seven-year-old was quick to reassure his brother, telling him the child at his school was being stupid, “because where else did presents come from, does he think parents just buy them?”

Hilarious to heartbreaking

Not every child enjoys their visit to Santa, says Gary.

“If they’re not old enough, sometimes they just scream because they are scared,” he says. “So, I just say to the parents, we will have a good chat next year. I don’t want them to have a bad experience.”

They can sometimes come in with a big, long list, and Simon says he will look to the parents: “But I never commit to anything.”

Simon is a former member of the Royal Navy who served during the Gulf War, but says this job is “higher pressure”.

“There is so much weight attached to it, you don’t want to say the wrong thing and ruin someone’s Christmas,” he says.

And not every request a child has is one that’s easy to be filled.

“My first year, second day, I had a little girl who said she didn’t want her terminally ill dad to die,” says Simon. “She had been looking forward to coming to see Santa so she could ask him that.”

Paul grows emotional when he talks about similar experiences.

“I have had children ask if grandma or grandpa can come visit them again,” he says.

“I hold my hand up to them – we aren’t allowed to hug them – and I say that’s not in my bit of magic. My bit of magic is different. But I’ll tell you what, when I get back, if I can find them I will have a word and I’ll tell them you still love them.

“That’s the best I can do.”

The cost of Santa’s beard

Being a Santa is not going to make you rich, especially not when you invest in your own costume, says Paul.

His beard is made from the belly hair of a yak and cost him £650.

“I spent a week’s wages on a wig and beard,” he says. “But you don’t do it for the money.”

And while some opportunities can be lucrative – Gary was offered a stint at Lapland for £1,500 a week – Paul has heard of companies abroad offering just £50 a day to Santa and his elves.

“I also did an event with a reindeer – the reindeer got paid more than I did,” Paul says.

“You’ve got to love the job, you don’t do it for the money.”

Roxy Horner has confirmed her engagement to comedian Jack Whitehall, sharing footage and pictures of her ring.

The model welcomed her first child with Whitehall last year.

In a post on Instagram, she flashed her ring in several clips with her new fiance in a video montage.

The 33-year-old said: “How could I fit in a whole year of highlights in one video?

“Here is a snippet of the last 2 magical months of 2024, feeling utterly blessed”.

Whitehall commented on the video saying “my love” with heart emojis.

He also reposted on his Instagram a picture where she calls him the “best fiance in the world”.

The couple began dating in early 2020.

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Wham! make history with Last Christmas
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Whitehall commented on their relationship a year later when Horner discovered she had type 1 diabetes after she collapsed at the Brit Awards.

It would be easy to dismiss tabletop gaming as a “geeky” hobby played by young boys in the basements of their homes.

For those who have never enjoyed the rush of playing a miniature wargame, it may come as a surprise that it is in fact a multi-billion-pound industry loved by people from all walks of life and is continuing to boom across the country.

Tabletop gaming covers quite a lot of different things, including board games, card games, dice games, miniature war games, role-playing games and tile-based games.

In this golden age of video games and comic book movies, experts say tabletop gaming has been “pulled along” into the mainstream and is currently enjoying a “renaissance” in the UK.

Games Workshop has been transformed into a billion-pound company thanks to the likes of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000.

The firm, which was founded in 1975 by three friends, was originally a manufacturer of wooden boards for games including backgammon, mancala, nine men’s morris, and go.

It later became an importer of the US role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, before going on to publish war games and role-playing games in its own right.

The company opened its first shop in Hammersmith, west London, in 1978 in a chain that would later spread across the world.

The now Nottingham-headquartered company was worth about £4.7bn at the beginning of December.

To put that into perspective, at the same time Boohoo was worth around £470m, ASOS £455m, and Card Factory £315m.

Superman himself, Henry Cavill, is one of Games Workshop’s A-list clients.

The gaming enthusiast has been attempting to bring a Warhammer film and television universe to life via Amazon MGM Studios, and in recent weeks it was confirmed a TV series is moving forward.

The Hollywood star celebrated the news by making a “pilgrimage” to the very first place he bought Warhammer models more than 30 years ago on his home island of Jersey.

Tabletop gaming enjoying a ‘renaissance’ in the UK

Dr Niall Moody and Dr Hailey Austin, from Abertay University’s faculty of design, informatics and business, told Sky News tabletop gaming is enjoying a “resurgence” in the UK.

Dr Moody, a lecturer in game audio and design, said “these days, geek culture is mainstream”.

He believes the box office draw of the likes of The Lord Of The Rings films and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) have helped to “pull along things like tabletop gaming”.

Dr Moody said part of its popularity also stems from the fact it has been around for a “very long time”.

He explained: “Board games date back to 3000BC at least. We’ve had card games since, like, the 14-15th century.

“Warhammer’s lineage is kind of from war games. The original one of those is Kriegsspiel from the 19th century.

“And the other big part of tabletop gaming today is tabletop role-playing games.”

He added: “Tabletop role-playing games in particular have become massively popular over the past like 10 years. I think part of the reason they’ve become so popular is down to the actual play stuff.”

Actual play – also called live play – is a genre of podcast or web show where people play tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) for an audience.

It often encompasses in-character interactions between players, storytelling from the gamemaster, and out-of-character engagements such as dice rolls and discussion of game mechanics.

Dr Moody, a game designer and artist, said highly polished shows have inspired would-be players to take up the hobby.

Colleague Dr Austin, a lecturer in visual media and culture, said there is a “huge culture” around playing games right now in the UK.

She noted: “This culture has been huge in Germany and Sweden for a long time, but it’s having a renaissance here now.

“I think it’s similar to sports. Some people know a lot about sports and teams and trends, and watch other people playing sports. And others play it themselves.

“It’s the same with games and board games. Some people only like to watch, and others like to join in casually, or competitively.

“I think some people don’t know how popular it is because we are in an age of information overload and there’s no way to know about everything, while there’s no excuse not to know anything.”

Dr Austin, whose PhD is in comic books, believes role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons – which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024 – are enjoying a revival in part due to the popularity of the likes of Netflix show Stranger Things, as well as podcasts and well-produced live sessions like Critical Role and Dimension 20.

Dr Austin, a programme lead for Abertay University’s BA (Hons) game design and production course, noted the hobby is often thought of as being “consumed by predominantly young men” but that isn’t the case.

She said: “Board games, card games, party games and role-playing games are incredibly popular with all kinds of people and have been for a long time.

“In fact, by most accounts, women tend to make up around 50% of game players. They just aren’t thought of as the main market.”

She also believes Generation Z’s alcohol habits could also be playing a positive role in the hobby’s popularity.

A YouGov survey released at the beginning of 2024 found that almost half of the UK’s youngest drinkers were turning down booze for low or no-alcohol alternatives.

Dr Austin said: “From what I understand, young people don’t want to go out drinking much anymore. They would rather stay home with friends and play games.

“It’s a nice, lowkey way to be social, meet like-minded people, and a safe space to express themselves.”

An important lifeline to those seeking friendship

One Scottish club is testament to the popularity of tabletop gaming.

Crossfire Gaming Club was founded by a group of six friends in February 2023.

Club chairman Chris Mooney, 37, told Sky News the men needed a place to game after “getting it in the neck” from their wives and partners for repeatedly playing at each other’s houses.

They hired out Cumbernauld Village Hall in North Lanarkshire and hoped to attract a few other gamers.

It has since grown exponentially with club nights held on both Mondays and Thursdays.

Mr Mooney said: “We thought if we get eight to 10 people that’ll be a massive success for us. Now we’re averaging 50-odd. It’s no longer a small operation.”

Members play a wide variety of games, from the likes of Warhammer 40k, Age of Sigmar and Infinity to Blood Bowl, Kill Team and Star Wars: X-Wing.

Starter armies are available to players who don’t have any gaming equipment, and intro games can be arranged for those who have never played before.

There’s even a hobby area where members can sit down and paint their models while chatting to others.

The club has invested in board games, and other groups that need a space for the likes of Dungeons & Dragons are additionally invited to get in touch.

Since its inception, the club has received £25,248 from National Lottery Awards for All Scotland.

The committee has used some of the money to purchase high-quality gaming terrain.

The lotto cash has also been used to fund more tables, buy merchandise like club hoodies, and subsidise expeditions – like group cinema trips and axe-throwing adventures.

Mr Mooney said the funding has helped “massively”.

He said: “It takes the pressure off us as we don’t have to worry about the next council bill that’s coming in for the hall or so.”

Mr Mooney, who was part of a gaming club years ago, agrees with Dr Moody’s sentiment that the popularity of computer games and comic book movies have helped to bolster the perception of tabletop gaming.

He said: “It’s become a lot less taboo over time. It used to be one person in the classroom that collected comic books, but now it’s very accepted because Marvel is mainstream and all sorts.

“Geek culture has become very mainstream, and that’s kind of pulled along things like wargaming with it as well.”

Mr Mooney says some of those within the “gaming, wargaming and geek culture suffer from social anxiety”.

He said that’s why he personally likes the club, explaining: “I like coming out and talking to people.”

Dr Moody agrees that its popularity has led to the creation of public events, societies and board game cafes – all deemed to be a “safe space” for those with social anxiety.

Dr Moody said: “With social anxiety in particular, it can be really hard to socialise in more traditional settings like pubs.

“If the sole focus is social interactions, like making small talk, it can be really hard if you struggle with social anxiety, and you can often freeze up in those situations.

“But one of the really good things about games, tabletop games in particular, is that they give you something else to focus on that helps you relax around other people.

“It’s a great way to meet people in a low-stakes setting.”

Jac Harvie, 25, is one such member who enjoys the social aspect of the club as most of his friends are not into tabletop gaming. “I’ve got anxiety and can struggle sometimes, but here I feel like I’m among friends,” he said.

“We share a lot of the same likes and talk about things like new books that have come out.”

Even when he’s losing, Mr Harvie is still having fun.

He explained: “Even the bad nights are good because you enjoy yourself.”

Kevin McMail, 39, is another member who believes the club offers an important lifeline to those seeking friendship.

Due to the effects of lockdown, he found himself in front of a screen a lot.

“I realised I was probably spending more time at home with the dog than out and about the way I had before. I was like, ‘I’ve got to get away from this’.”

Mr McMail said unlike basic video gaming, there are “extra elements” to the hobby as participants can express their artistic side through the painting of their battle figurines.

He added: “I think a lot of people are attached to screens a lot, but you don’t feel the same level of social experience when you’re playing online games with people.

“That level of social connection, I think it’s important for a lot of people. And that’s what you get here – just an unbelievably supportive community.”