When you think of Mrs. Claus, you will likely picture a grandmotherly old woman baking cookies and knitting scarves for elves.
The devoted wife of Santa Claus and Mother of Christmas, she is as plump and sweet as Christmas Pudding itself.
But what else do we know about the mistress of mistletoe? Surely there is more to her story than being the partner of Old Saint Nick?
From her impressive age to her secret lair, here are 9 Merry facts about the most famous spouse in Christmas history.
Mrs. Claus has had more than one first name.
Mrs Claus was first mentioned by name in James Rees’s 1849 short story, A Christmas Legend. In the story, Santa Claus refers to her as Gertrude. However, this name didn’t stick around for long and changed many times over the coming decades.
In 1970, she was given the name Jessica in the stop-motion animation film Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town.
Because of this, “Jessica Claus” grew in popularity and was even mentioned by film actor Ryan Reynolds in an Instagram post on December 5, 2022.
Mrs. Claus’s other aliases include Holly, Mary, Carol, Anya, Margaret, and Ruth, among others.
Christmas was saved by Mrs. Claus when Santa Claus was sick.
In the 1974 animation The Year Without a Santa Claus, it was up to Mrs. Claus to save the day after Santa loses his Christmas cheer.
Putting on her husband’s famous red suit, we see our new hero go to great lengths to restore festive faith to all. She succeeds, of course, and Santa recovers just in time to make his Christmas Eve trek.
It would seem that Mrs. Claus has stepped in for Mr. Claus more than once, though.
In another children’s story by Christopher M. Benedict, Santa breaks his leg and must stay home while his wife delivers toys to all the girls and boys instead.
Mrs. Claus is a movie star.
Mrs. Claus has seen her fair share of the big screen, from blockbusters to B-movies. Her not-so-traditional debut came in 1964 when she appeared in the sci-fi/comedy film Santa Claus Conquers The Martians.
In 1996, she starred in her own movie aptly named Mrs. Santa Claus. Played by Dame Angela Lansbury, Mrs. Claus takes on the name Mrs. North as she heads to New York City for a holiday away from her husband.
In more recent times, Mel Gibbson starred alongside her in the 2020 action/comedy film Fatman. Together, Mr. and Mrs. Claus must team up to defeat an assassin sent to the North Pole by a vengeful naughty kid. Unsurprisingly, it’s not a Christmas film suitable for younger audiences.
It’s possible that Mrs. Claus keeps the books on who’s naughty or nice.
In the 1878 children’s book Lill’s Travels in Santa Claus Land and Other Stories, authors Ellis Towne, Sophie May, and Ella Farman tell the story of Lill’s imaginary visit to Santa’s office.
Here, we glimpse a lady marking a book of names with black marks.
Santa Claus instructs this lady to “‘Put down a good mark for Sarah Buttermilk. I see she is trying to conquer her quick temper.” followed by, “Two bad ones for Isaac Clappertongue; he’ll drive his mother to the insane asylum yet.”
Afterward, Lill and her sister Effie ponder how many marks they have against their names in the book and whether this lady is indeed Mrs Claus.
Mrs. Claus is over 1140 years old.
According to the website emailsanta.com (where you can actually email Santa!) Mrs. Claus will be 1143 on Christmas Day 2023. The site features a second-by-second timer of Mrs Claus’s age in case you are curious about exactly how old she is.
This makes her a little younger than her husband, Santa Claus, whose birthday is March 15, making him currently 1753 years old.
Nat King Cole wrote a song about Mrs. Claus.
Grammy award winner jazz singer and pianist Nat King Cole is a legend in music history. Writing and performing songs mainly about love and ladies, Mr. Cole also wrote a special song just for Mrs. Claus.
The 1958 single “Mrs. Santa Claus” is a tribute to the hard work that Mrs Claus puts into keeping Santa and the workshop going. The lyrics describe her going about her seemingly never-ending duties while always singing and spreading joy.
Others have also used Mrs. Claus for melodic inspiration. From Cheech and Chong to Ariana Grande, songs have been sung in her honor worldwide.
Santa can fly a sleigh, but Mrs. Claus can fly a Helicopter.
In 2016, British clothing and food retailer Marks & Spencer launched a Christmas campaign starring a more modern interpretation of Mrs. Claus. Directed by Acadamy Award Winner Tom Hooper, we see Mrs. Claus more like a superhero than a sweet old lady.
In the commercial, Mrs. Claus sees her husband off on his sleigh before running down to her secret lair.
After getting dressed in red, she hops on a jetski before climbing aboard a helicopter named R-DOLF, a play on Rudolph. Our heroine then takes flight to deliver a surprise Christmas present to a child in need.
There is a Mrs. Claus Emoji.
One of the most modern ways to depict the likeness of something or someone is in the form of an emoji. Emojis have been around since 1997, but it wasn’t until 2016 that Mrs. Claus finally got hers.
Displayed as an older woman with glasses and a festive red and white bonnet, Mrs. Claus was approved as part of the official Christmas emoji collection.
Other emojis in the Christmas collection include a Christmas Tree, Snowman, and Santa Claus (of course).
You can visit Mrs. Claus at her house in Lapland.
Officially named the hometown of Mr. and Mrs. Claus in 1985, Rovaniemi in the Lapland region of Finland is where you can visit the husband and wife duo in person.
Appropriately named Santa Claus Village, this amusement park and holiday destination is dedicated to year-round festive fun.
Among the workshops and reindeer paddocks to explore, Mrs. Claus has her own Christmas Cottage that you can visit. Here you can meet Mrs. Claus herself, along with some of her elves.
After a nice chat and a souvenir photo with your host, you are invited to the Café of Mrs. Claus, where you can enjoy some hot chocolate and Finnish pastries.
I think we can all agree that Mrs. Claus is far more than just Santa’s Wife. A helicopter pilot, a motion picture starlet, and an emoji, Mrs. Claus has packed a lot into her 1143 years.
Also, having saved Christmas more than once before, I wonder if she might be the one delivering presents and eating the cookies this year.
