All eyes in the public market were on the young man with the baby buggy. The buggy was decorated with Christmas ornaments and a sign that read "Merry Christmas from Patsy, Baby Seal of the Aquarium, Pier 3." "Wasn't that Ivar from the aquarium? The one who sang on the radio? What was he doing with a baby carriage? Was Ivar a father?" A small crowd gathered round the buggy. Ivar smiled pleasantly and continued on his way. Those who could see into the buggy began to laugh. The crowd was starting to grow. "What is it?" people wanted to know. "What's in the buggy?" The crowd spilled out of the market and onto the sidewalk. Ivar made his way slowly across the street and continued uptown. His destination was one of the large department stores in Seattle, Frederick & Nelson. Reason for coming: to visit Santa Claus.

By the time Ivar and Patsy got to the store, a path had to be cleared to get through the door. Newspaper photographers were there. Flashbulbs were popping. True to his nature, Ivar deadpanned for the cameras and wheeled the buggy directly up to Santa, who by this time wasn't at all sure what he wanted to do. He stared down into the buggy and cleared his throat. "Ah...heh. Ho Ho Ho, little fellah!" Two huge dark eyes stared back at him. "Harroww!" "It's a seal," they cried, "Ivar brought the seal to see Santa Claus!"