2008 Woodie Awards
All eyes on Glen and Sherry Pippen
Laura Prather
Issue date: 12/6/07 Section: TruLife
One of the funniest things the Pippens said they get asked by kids is what they feed their reindeer back at the North Pole.
"We tell them that the candy corn you get at Halloween time, we save all of that for reindeer corn," Sherry said. "It's easy to explain to them, 'You know how your parents say you shouldn't eat too much sugar, you'll get on a sugar high, too much sugar makes you active? Well, we feed that special reindeer corn to the reindeer so that then they have a lot of energy, so they can fly all over the world.' And kids understand that, it's something they can relate to."
Glen and Sherry said they prepare for the holiday season by doing work ahead of time. Sherry said she writes all of her Christmas cards and does most of her baking before Thanksgiving because she knows she won't have time for it once their Santa appearances begin.
The Pippens also keep track of popular toys and items that a lot of kids will be asking for which they do by listening to what their 7-year-old grandson talks about.
Glen said he and Sherry never ask to be paid for what they do, although they do usually expect to be reimbursed for gas since they often travel to local towns. He said some places do pay them, but because schools especially can't afford it, they make up for it by having the kids make cards or get them a small gift of appreciation.
Glen is retired, and Sherry works as a teacher's aid for special needs children in La Plata. They said that although they are getting older and the job is getting hard to keep up with, they have come to love it more and more every year.
"We love it, we really do," Sherry said. "He keeps saying, 'Oh I'm not going to do it anymore, I'm not going to do it anymore.' But then it gets about August and he already starts thinking about like, 'Do you think we need to check the suit yet?'"
Although the Pippens mainly do it for the kids, they also get a lot of joy out of it.
"Really, it's just more that it's available to us - that's the way I look at it," Sherry said. "It's available to us to help make our Christmas better."
"We tell them that the candy corn you get at Halloween time, we save all of that for reindeer corn," Sherry said. "It's easy to explain to them, 'You know how your parents say you shouldn't eat too much sugar, you'll get on a sugar high, too much sugar makes you active? Well, we feed that special reindeer corn to the reindeer so that then they have a lot of energy, so they can fly all over the world.' And kids understand that, it's something they can relate to."
Glen and Sherry said they prepare for the holiday season by doing work ahead of time. Sherry said she writes all of her Christmas cards and does most of her baking before Thanksgiving because she knows she won't have time for it once their Santa appearances begin.
The Pippens also keep track of popular toys and items that a lot of kids will be asking for which they do by listening to what their 7-year-old grandson talks about.
Glen said he and Sherry never ask to be paid for what they do, although they do usually expect to be reimbursed for gas since they often travel to local towns. He said some places do pay them, but because schools especially can't afford it, they make up for it by having the kids make cards or get them a small gift of appreciation.
Glen is retired, and Sherry works as a teacher's aid for special needs children in La Plata. They said that although they are getting older and the job is getting hard to keep up with, they have come to love it more and more every year.
"We love it, we really do," Sherry said. "He keeps saying, 'Oh I'm not going to do it anymore, I'm not going to do it anymore.' But then it gets about August and he already starts thinking about like, 'Do you think we need to check the suit yet?'"
Although the Pippens mainly do it for the kids, they also get a lot of joy out of it.
"Really, it's just more that it's available to us - that's the way I look at it," Sherry said. "It's available to us to help make our Christmas better."
Be the first to comment on this story