Brandon hired as Christmas consultant, unveils new look for Santa

(from MZone wire reports) North Pole -- Kris Kringle named Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon as a special consultant for the upcoming Christmas holiday and changes are already in the works.  At the press conference announcing his hiring, Brandon unveiled several new looks for Santa's iconic attire and said Jolly Old St. Nicholas will be wearing each of them as he heads across the globe on Christmas Eve.

Needless to say, not everyone was pleased.

Following a brief "elf fight" upon seeing leaked photos of the new suits on the popular holiday blog Every Day Should Be Christmas, Brandon calmed the crowd by assuring the concerned elves and several of the reindeer that these were not permanent changes nor were they the only suits Santa would wear during his yearly sleigh ride.  Most of the time, Brandon said, Santa would still be wearing his traditional all-red-with-white-fringe suit.  He insisted the new "legacy costumes" would only be used for a limited time during a small portion of the trip.

"The new candy-cane-adorned suit is only going to be worn over parts of Canada, the violet snow-flaked-encrusted costume is for the Netherlands, and the tie dye look is specifically for UC Berkeley," said Brandon as Mrs. Claus and Rudolph stood nearby, modeling two of the new suits.

Brandon claimed he understood the anger expressed by those who didn't want any changes to Santa's familiar and time-honored look.  However, he pointed out that an update to the Old Man's attire was needed if Christmas wanted to continue to appeal to a younger audience.  "Look at Halloween," said Brandon.  "It's a marketing bonanza because there are so many different costumes to choose from.  Kids love it.  So while we're sensitive to tradition here at Christmas, we're also mindful of the need to keep pace with the other holidays during the year."

The new suits will be available starting Friday on The SantaDen for $60 each.