‘I've read 10,000 letters!'

Santa Pat has been spreading ho-ho-holiday joy for 43 years

- Astha Gupta

When Patrick Sheean’s lovely auburn hair and beard began turning white, his mother-inlaw thought he’d be perfect to play Santa at their family picnic.

Pulling on the red suit for the first time in 1978, he confesses he never imagined that 43 years on he’d still be wearing it!

“I was hooked from the first time when I put on a fake beard, the red suit and strapped on a fake stomach,” 81-year-old Pat tells Woman’s Day from his home in Ocean Grove, Victoria.

Since then, Pat, now a great-grandfather, hasn’t missed a single chance to spread Christmas cheer for more than four decades at charity events, shopping centres, hospitals and aged care homes.