This year, avoid plastic dividers and distant benches when seeing Santa Claus. The jolly old elf has returned, pre-pandemic style, and he has some important concerns.
Mitch Allen, founder and chief elf of Santa booking service HireSanta.com, reported a 30% rise in demand this holiday season compared to last year, despite losing 15% of its performers to retirement or death due to the epidemic.
He has a database of several thousand Santas and has performed at Bloomingdale’s flagship store in New York, many Marriott locations, and other U.S. events. Santa can opt to wear a mask, but the majority of Allen’s customers have returned to kids on laps and are not contemplating COVID-19 in a significant way, he added.
Cherry Hill Programs, another prominent Santa agency, has returned to pre-pandemic booking levels for its 1,400 or so Santas operating at more than 600 malls and other locations this year, according to spokeswoman Chris Landtroop.
“I can’t even express how delighted we are to witness everyone’s grins at all sites this season, unobscured by anything,” she added.
Inflation is also a key contributor to the dearth of persons dressed as Saint Nicholas.
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Santas in Cherry Hill are permitted to wear masks, according to Landtroop.
Are notable Santas still maintaining their distance? There will be no lap visits at the Herald Square main store of Macy’s. Santa Claus is seated at his desk.
Some Santas who stayed away for the past two years out of worry for their health have returned to the ho ho ho game, but Allen is frantically searching for fresh performers to replenish his pipeline.
Santa Claus has also been affected by inflation. Many senior individuals with fixed means travel great distances to don the red outfit. They invest hundreds in outfits and other accessories.
“We’re charging somewhat more to our clients, and we’re also paying our Santas slightly more,” said Allen.
Numerous Santas were scheduled months in advance, and others worked year-round. Santas at Allen’s will earn between $5,000 and $12,000 for the holiday season.
Additionally, requests for Santas of all races are at an all-time high.
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A few Santas told The Associated Press that the price does not upset them. They are not Santas for financial gain, but rather out of pure delight.
Allen and other agencies are seeing an increasing number of requests for inclusive Santas, such as Black, deaf, and Spanish-speaking actors. Allen has a female Santa Claus on speed dial as well.
“Children and, with one exception, parents haven’t caught me yet,” said Melissa Rickard, 48, who stepped into the position in her early 20s after the Santa employed by her father’s lodge became ill.
“In one way, it is the ultimate compliment for a child not to be able to tell I’m a woman because it indicates I’m doing Santa right. It amuses my husband,” Rickard, who resides outside Little Rock, Arkansas, added. “I am certain there are more like us in the world.”
By mid-November, Rickard had secured more than 100 engagements via Hire Santa and other channels.
She stated, “Much of it is word of mouth.” “The phrase is ‘Hey, have you seen the female Santa Claus?’”
Various Santas charge between $150 and $300 per hour.
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Depending on the assignment, Rickard charges around $175 per hour as Santa and donates all of her earnings to charity. And her mustache? Yak hair.
Eric Elliott’s meticulously maintained white beard is authentic. In 2007, he and his Mrs. Claus, Moeisha Elliott, began volunteering as Santa and Mrs. Claus, respectively. Both are military veterans.
They participated in weeks of formal Santa training. They learned American Sign Language and other techniques for accommodating persons with impairments. As part of their efforts, they have traveled to disaster zones with the Texas-based non-profit Lone Star Santas in an effort to spread some joy.
The Black Elliotts claim that getting into the top tier of Santas as first-time professionals and people of color has not been simple. Eric remarked, “We recognize that we’re not Santa Claus for you” to a few individuals.
The Santa Experience at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, has hired six Saint Nicholas, including two African-American Santas and its first Asian Santa. Visits are available in Spanish and Cantonese.
Working smaller projects, such as house visits, the Elliotts have witnessed how growing costs have negatively affected certain individuals. When they detect that individuals are struggling, they have cut their prices.
Other Santas are unaware of their value and charge $50 to $75 per hour.
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Eric stated, “People are having difficulty eating, but they do not want to miss out on the experience.” Occasionally, he continued, “you’ll meet them and say, ‘Go ahead and keep that. I am aware that you worked hard for that.’”
For additional clients, the Elliotts charge between $150 and $300 per hour.
Charles Graves, a professional deaf Santa in New Braunfels, Texas, stated through an interpreter that embarrassing encounters with hearing Santas as a youngster drove him to grow his beard and don the outfit.
“As a youngster, I was thrilled to get a present, but as time went on, I realized there was no link between the item and myself. Children now look at me as if to say, “Wow, there is a link there with the deaf culture.” And I can always interact with deaf children as well,” claimed the 52-year-old Santa, Graves.
Graves, who works at a school for deaf children during the day, also underwent training to portray Santa Claus. He operates as Santa Claus with translators. He believes that breaking in has been tough and costly, but “this is something that is really important to me.”
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He had more than a dozen engagements by mid-November, including a parade in Santa Paula, California, a mall in Austin, Texas, and Morgan’s Wonderland, a nonprofit accessible theme park in San Antonio. Additionally, he does Zoom visits.
This year, among Santa’s mounting expenses are his duds. According to 72-year-old Stephen Arnold, the leader of the more than 2,000-member International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas, the price of suits, both bespoke and off-the-rack, has risen by around 25 percent.
“Most of the artists I know are increasing their fees, mostly owing to the rising costs of travel, lodging, and supplies,” he stated. “This year, I’m slightly increasing my charges for new clients, but I’m maintaining my rates for returning clients.”
Arnold in Memphis, Tennessee, costs between $250 and $350 per hour. Others in his group, depending on their location and level of experience, charge between $100 and $500 per hour, the latter in major metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles. Some, he claimed, are unaware of their worth and offer $50 or $75 per hour.
Arnold hasn’t heard a peep about the epidemic from his clients compared to last year and 2020, when he worked inside a snow globe. The Santas he knows appear calm.
Arnold stated, “I’m amazed at how few people are bothered about it.” “I see my wife at a nursing home twice a day. I’m diabetic. I mean, the most of us are elderly obese males.”
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