For most of his adult life, Bryan Larson traveled the world on behalf of the United States, working in embassies and meeting people from many different cultures.

Now, during the holiday season, he has a different mission: helping Santa Claus bring joy to children across the Roaring Fork Valley.

Larson works with KidToons, a children’s entertainment organization that brings holiday magic to events from Rifle to Aspen. As one of Santa’s helpers, Larson spends December visiting community gatherings, greeting families and helping make the spirit of Christmas come alive wherever he goes.

His journey into Santa’s world began in 2021, thanks to a fairy.

“In 2021, I met this fairy named Dizzy,” Larson said. “She works up and down the valley.”

Dizzy performs as an elf during the Christmas season and as a fairy during the summer months. At first, Larson helped by driving her to performances and assisting behind the scenes. After about a year, KidToons organizer Tammy asked if he would be willing to help Santa during the busy holiday season.

“I decided, yeah, sure. Why not?” Larson said. “I’ll try it.”

Larson retired in 2020 after 20 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, where he worked as a diplomat and lived in countries around the world. His assignments included cities such as Seoul, Beijing, Athens, Mexico City and Baghdad.

Most of his work focused on international trade.

“I helped negotiate trade agreements,” Larson said. “I worked with U.S. companies, including a lot of Colorado companies, to expand their sales overseas.”

After retirement, Larson planned to spend more time hiking and enjoying a quieter pace of life. Helping Santa, he said, turned out to be something special.

“I really enjoyed it,” he said. “After that season, I got my own suit and everything required, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

Larson now works with KidToons year-round, helping with children’s entertainment in the summer and assisting Santa during the holidays. Each December, he typically helps at about a dozen events.

“It does take a lot of work to get ready and to move from one venue to another,” he said. “But the rewards are incredible.”

Those rewards, Larson said, come in small but powerful moments.

“When you’re with a child, there’s nothing else,” he said. “It’s just pure happiness.”

Helping Santa requires a special way of seeing the world, Larson said — one that feels very different from his former career.

“When you’re a diplomat, everything is ranked,” he said. “Who you’re dealing with, how you’re treated, everything like that.”

Helping Santa, he said, means letting go of all that.

“You can’t have an ego,” Larson said. “You just become a kid and experience life like they do.”

That change has brought him joy.

“I never have a bad day,” he said. “It’s wonderful to have a role where you hug children and just give and get love.”

Larson is a Colorado native who grew up in the Denver and Boulder area. After retirement, he chose to live on the Western Slope rather than return to the Front Range.

“I’ve spent my life in big cities,” he said. “I didn’t want that again.”

He now splits his time between Grand Junction and the Roaring Fork Valley, spending summers and the holiday season in the mountains.

His experience living around the world continues to help him in Santa’s workshop, especially in a valley that welcomes families from many countries. Larson speaks Spanish and remembers some Greek and Mandarin, which often brings smiles to visiting families.

“There are people from all over,” he said. “Especially in Aspen.”

For Larson, helping Santa is not about costumes or appearances. It is about being present and sharing joy, one child at a time.

“In that moment,” he said, “there’s nothing else.”

As Christmas approaches, Larson said he feels grateful for the chance to help keep the season magical.

“It’s absolutely wonderful,” he said.