For Letter Carrier, Working Christmas More Than Just A Special Delivery

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WATAUGA (CBS11) - After delivering gifts all night, Santa Claus traded in his sleigh for a U.S. Postal Service van. "I do have my list and I've checked it twice. We're only doing nice today. No naughties."

On this day, Santa is Michael Jones, a letter carrier for 22 years.

He and five others from the Fort Worth Post Office are distributing a couple hundred packages.

Jones says, "We dig out everything that looks like a Christmas present and we collect them and get all of the express mail and then we divide it up and spread out and hit it."

As we followed Jones on his route, he stopped at the Pfeiffer's house in Watauga.

24-year-old Tricia Pfeiffer says she's not too old to see Santa and gave him a hug. "I was surprised, it's not something I expected today. It was a great surprise though."

His appearance attracted attention from the two young children across the street.

Jones says, "I do this for the kids, but the truth is I do it for me through the kids because the magic is just unbelievable."

His white beard is real, and besides being a letter carrier, he's also the official Santa Claus for the city of Watauga.

Jones has delivered packages on Christmas for the U.S. Postal Service for 14 years and he has some stories to tell. "Once I had two kids who grabbed onto me and I couldn't get them off my legs. The parents kept pulling them."

And then Jones says there's his least favorite encounter. "I rang the bell, and the door opened, and I was looking at a double-barreled 20 gauge. They saw me and I say I have a package and I held it up like it would protect me and they were like oh my gosh they were so embarrassed."

Back at the Pfeiffer's house, Santa's visit proved to be more than just a special delivery."

Annette Pfeiffer says, "It was very, very special because we just got back yesterday from burying my step-dad so we weren't really in the Christmas spirit. We were trying but it's been very tough, so this really made Christmas for us."

Jones says, "This little bit of time I spend away from family on Christmas is more than made up for because I spend it with people like that. You see their joy, their happiness."
He spreads the spirit of the holiday one package at a time.

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