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AMERICA:CHRISTMAS MAY be more than five months away but hundreds of Santas are parking their sleighs in Kansas City this weekend to exchange tips on everything from bleaching your beard and buying a belt to getting a job at the local shopping mall. They are planning the biggest Santa Claus parade in history, reindeer games, and a Mrs Claus fashion show, as well as a visit to a local baseball game.

The annual meeting of the Amalgamated Order of Real-Bearded Santas is happening under a cloud of bitterness and recrimination, however, as splits within the Santa community have spilled over into legal action and mutual charges of heavy-handed tactics. Dozens of Santas have stomped out of the group, accusing its leaders of ethical violations and of "engaging in un-Santa like dialogue" on the Elf Net website.