A teenage boy has been spreading Christmas joy in his own unique way – as a drag Santa Claus.
Sam Carlin, who goes by the drag name Cherry West, donned a Santa dress and six-inch red stilettos, as well as the iconic white beard to hand out presents.
Sam had done drag since he was 14 and wanted everyone to have a merry ‘Dragmas’, so he decided to hand out gifts dressed as Santa.
Cherry spread the Christmas spirit throughout as she was booked and busy with performances, hosting Edinburgh Pride and even starting her own events company.
Cherry managed to work her magic and get some Ru Paul’s queens to Edinburgh to celebrate together.
Sam explained: “I thought it would be fun when handing out my gifts to do it as Cherry, as my little cousins haven’t seen me in drag yet.
“I’ve only performed in the Christmas drag outfit a few times, but everyone says the look was good.”
Sam hoped to go on tour as Cherry and make next Christmas’ outfit bigger and fluffier, with even more sparkles.
He added: “To get ready for this look it probably takes me about an hour or so, then you have the padding and the outfit to do as well, which doesn’t take too long.
“I think it looked good with the red shiny six-inch heels which took a bit of time getting used to walking in, never mind dancing in!
“I love this time of the year and I hope it’s a fantastic Dragmas!”
The drag queen had performed all over the UK including Newcastle, Manchester and Blackpool but despite his impressive resume, he had also received some backlash for his age.
He added: “There has been some backlash as some people have contacted venues and tried to get my gigs stopped due to my age.
“Some venues have been very supportive and some have cancelled me due to any negative press they would receive, but overall most places are very open and are booking me regularly still.”
Sam’s parents, Sam Snr, and Karen, supported their son and loved watching Cherry’s performances.
Dad Sam explains: “We thought the look was great and fun, she really likes this time of year as there are quite a few events on which she gets to perform at in her Christmas look.
“Cherry’s quite busy at the moment, but it just means I’ll be chauffeuring her about, she already thinks she’s a diva.
“I was aware he liked watching Ru Paul’s Drag Race, though never thought anything of it until Sam had left the band he was in at school and told me and his Mum he wanted to do drag.
“I think we both just laughed at first, but realised he was serious and from that moment on we supported him.”
Sam Snr added: “He was reluctant at first of other people knowing in case he got bullied, but as he progressed we could see this was Sam or Cherry and it was something he was really good at.
“It seemed to make him very happy so I told him just to tell everyone and we would support him and deal with it.
“There was initially a mix of reactions, but now everyone accepts this is what he wants to do and knows he really enjoys it.
“He puts his heart and soul into every performance.”
Despite being a younger Drag queen, Cherry built up a supportive fan base of 11.8K followers on Instagram.
Sam Snr commented on his son’s career: “He’s getting better with every gig and show, and he seems to be a perfectionist when it comes to his set list or the style he’s going for.
“I’m also very involved with organising, and pricing the gigs, and most importantly, I’m the Dad Taxi.
“We’re all very proud of the person he’s become, and he has no fear in letting everyone know he likes drag, even at his age.
“There will be times he’ll have to deal with nasty or rude people not accepting who he is but I know he can deal with it.”
Sam first saw a drag show when he was 10 years old which introduced him to the world of drag, making him want to start experimenting with his looks.
He said: “When I was 10, my parents went to see a show in our hotel in Menorca and it was a drag show – this was the first time I’d seen a show like it, I thought it was really funny especially as the men had dresses on.
“As I got older, I never really thought about it until I saw Ru Paul’s Drag Race and loved it. I thought ‘That’s going to be me’.”
Sam added: “I’d been watching drag for about a year, but I’d never really done anything about it as I was in a boyband.
“When I left the band, I immediately started to try make-up looks and wigs when I was 14.
“I started singing when I was around eight years old and was performing and busking around Edinburgh.
“If I went on holiday I would always get up on the karaoke. I think everything has led to me doing drag.
“I hope one day I’m the winner of Ru Paul’s Drag Race.”