The correct answer is: B) The man is thick and jolly.
Indeed, in contemporary Western culture, Santa Claus is represented as a smiling, Nordic man who wears a red and white medieval, Dutch winter costume. Physically he is supposed to be elderly, in his sixties, with white hair and blue eyes. He is also overweight. In this line, the character described is definitely overweight, hence the Santa Claus reference. The adjective appreciatively implies that he is benevolent and good-natured.