How do you learn to be a Santa Claus? You go to Santa school, of course.

Since 1937, the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School has taught its students to be jolly old souls. This year, about 200 students attended the school in Midland, Michigan, to learn how to be a good Santa or Mrs. Claus, says Tom Valent, who runs the school with his wife, Holly.

Back when Charles Howard founded the school, “there was a need for better Santas,” Valent says. “Some of the Santa characters were apparently pretty rough, smoking and drinking … I believe that was a bigger problem back then.” (Read “Christmas in July—Inside a Santa Summer Camp.”)

That might explain why the classic 1947 Christmas