Couple joins in a common Claus

The Clauses get into costumes 70 to 80 times during Christmas.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
CORTLAND -- Santa and Mrs. Claus are on an emotional sleigh ride during the Christmas holiday.
Those deep feelings range from watching the instantly amazed faces of wide-eyed children as Mr. and Mrs. Claus walk into a room to the heartache that swells inside them when an ill or poor child asks for a gift.
Paul and Pat Takacs of Cortland know those emotions first hand.
Takacs is a tool and die maker, and his wife is a cost-reduction analyst, both at Delphi Packard Electric Systems.
But during the Christmas season, they get into costume 70 to 80 times to play their roles as Mr. and Mrs. Kriss Kringle -- he for 25 years, she for 22.
"We get more out of this than we give," Pat Takacs said with a smile of satisfaction as she and her husband sat in their Beechwood Drive home.
Mrs. Takacs recalled years ago when a 5-year-old girl was sitting on her lap. She told Mrs. Takacs her name.
Pat Takacs knew the time and date the girl was born as the child's father listened with interest.
It turned out that the child was the first baby Pat Takacs helped deliver while in nursing training five years earlier. She was a nurse for 20 years before going to work at Delphi.
The couple has watched the little girl grow into adulthood, along with her 12 brothers and sisters. They have played Santa and Mrs. Claus for them and now their children every year since.
Paul Takacs said he won't forget a small boy when they went to visit a family.
"This will be his last Christmas," they were told. The child had terminal cancer.
Takacs, who gets emotional when he tells of the child whose hair had fallen out because of chemotherapy, couldn't help but sit on the floor and help open his gifts.
"It was important to me," Takacs lamented.
Two lost Santas
One of the most humorous times they had was when they got lost around Steel Street on Youngstown's West Side while going to an event.
They noticed a man in a car who also was lost. Both men got out of their cars and looked at each other, only to see both were dressed as Santa.
They got their directions from a map, shook hands and parted with a good laugh.
What kids want for Christmas hasn't changed much over the years, Pat Takacs said, noting that boys continue to want toy firetrucks and airplanes; girls want dolls.
More electronic games have shown up on the lists. The couple studies gift catalogs so they know what the kids are talking about.
Pat Takacs recalls one girl that wanted a Barbie car with a tow package to pull a trailer.
"I want to move myself," she answered when asked why she wanted the trailer.
A little boy wanted a real horse.
"Where would you put it?" Pat Takacs asked.
"In the carport," was his response.
One boy wanted the real Batman to visit his house and another boy, who watched cooking show host Emeril Lagasse on the Food Network, was hoping for a small oven.
Another boy wanted a Star Wars light saber that didn't need batteries so he could chase his brother around the house, use it to read at night and find his way if he got lost in the dark.
Some requests, or "wishes" as the Takacses put it, are poignant.
They recall a girl who wanted a dress that nobody had worn; another girl wanted her dad and her dog to be happy in heaven; and a little girl just wanted her mom to hug her.
There was also the desire of a foster boy who wanted to be with his parents and brothers and sisters, and a little girl who wanted happiness and "friendlierness" by everybody.
Over the years, the Takacses have delivered an engagement ring and had five requests for babies from couples.
As for those who know the magic of Christmas, it's the small children and grandparents who appreciate it the most.
"The old and the very young. These are the ones that get it," Pat Takacs said.
How they hooked up
The couple met in calculus class at Youngstown State University. During finals in December 1980, they took a break, walked downtown and into Master's Tuxedo Shop.
Takacs was persuaded by his future wife to try on a Santa costume and then talked into visiting his nieces and nephews. They've been portraying Santa and Mrs. Claus since.
The Takacses have no children.
"Do we have children? Yes, we do," she noted. "At Christmas time, we have thousands."
"I hope we make a difference, and I think we do," her husband added.
yovich@vindy.com