Santa makes case for chivalry, sets high bar for bachelors and robs yacht club all in same day [UPDATED 12/27]

On Sunday afternoon, Santa Claus helped a Costa Mesa, Calif. man toward his goal of getting wifed up when he assisted one of the most romantic -- or hokiest, depending on one's views of the holidays and the boundaries of cheesyness -- proposals to make mainstream news this year.

Then, he allegedly made his way across the country to Rhode Island, where he apparently robbed the East Providence Yacht Club sometime around 7 p.m. -- but more on that later.

In California, Santa called out Jenny Hoang, a 27-year-old Chapman University grad student, when she was at a local mall where she had taken her friend's kids to see the very man who was now conversing with her. Santa told her she'd been very good this year, and that he had a gift for her. At this point, her longtime boyfriend, Jonathan Nguyen, emerged from hiding in a Baby Gap, whipped out a ring box and proposed to Hoang on the spot. He did so in front of Santa and a bunch of parents, children and elves, one of which had given him the secret signal to emerge from the store for the surprise.

"I love you. Yes," Jenny said.

Jonathan, also 27 and an application engineer, told a reporter from the Orange County Register that he'd been considering proposing to Jenny -- whom he'd been dating since 2001 -- after they'd fought and gone through one of those break-up-then-get-back-together episodes often found in the plotlines of the now-defunct television show "The O.C."

Jonathan said he couldn't sleep or eat during the few days they were broken up, and said he lost five pounds "just missing Jenny. So, he went over to her place, rang the doorbell and told her he couldn't see his life without her. The AP didn't say whether it was pouring down rain when Jonathan did this or not, but one assumes so, even if it took place in Southern California.

For those of you keeping score at home: Jonathan Nguyen and his grand romantic gestures: 2; and all guys who hope to be considered romantic by any woman who has read this: 0.

After they re-united and Jonathan decided he wanted to marry Jenny, he mulled his options, attempting to find a unique and special way to ask. Then, during a November trip to the mall, they saw Santa and Jenny said she thought it'd be fun to get a picture with him. Then, Jonathan got after it. He enlisted the help of friends, family, the mall, some elves and Chris Kringle himself.

On Sunday, Jenny believed she was just doing a favor for a friend (apparently, she didn't question a friend who couldn't find time to take his or her own kids to see Santa), and she walked out of the mall a fiancee.

One hopes the burglar in Rhode Island was an imposter, and not the same Santa who was making moves to show the world that chivalry is not, in fact, dead. Apparently, it's quite possible he was, since he was dressed like Santa from the waist up, but rocked jeans on his lower half, a fact that breeds immediate skepticism to his ingenuity.

Police said a bartender was setting up the yacht club for the evening when the wannabe-Santa walked in strapped with either a shotgun or a rifle he had stowed in a Santa bag. He showed it to the bartender, who took flight and escaped through the entrance.

Santa got away with an undetermined amount of cash.

Maybe he'll return it on Christmas Day, Grinch-style.

*** Happy Holidays, everyone, and thank you for reading this year.

UPDATE:

Turns out, a Santa wearing jeans didn't rob the yacht club in Rhode Island.

The bartender, 37-year-old Christal Johnson, has been charged with making a false police report.

An amount between $1,500 and $3,000 is still missing from the bar. Police are still investigating just where it might have gone off to.