Oxstones Investment Club™10 Things Santa Won’t Tell You
His hearty “ho-ho-ho” might scare the children and ruin your budget.
By KELLI B. GRANT
1. “Your wish list pays my bills.”
For three weeks of Santa appearances in Hong Kong malls, children’s hospitals and orphanages, Jack Sanderson of Los Angeles estimates he’ll earn about $16,000. “It’s one of the top-paying Santa jobs,” says Sanderson, who wrote and produced the documentary “Becoming Santa.” He spends the rest of the year as an actor, and will use the income to cover the costs of being a Santa (see #2) and other regular bills. Experts say Sanderson’s is a coveted job — and on the higher end of what a Santa might make. But even so, a typical Saint Nick earns more in six weeks than many consumers do in six months. A Santa might make $8,000 to $15,000 during the holiday season, and particularly talented ones can pull in as much as $80,000, says Susen Mesco, the director of American Events and Promotions in Denver. Mall Santas have a far less lofty rate ranging between $10 and $40 per hour. Those offering private visits (no chimneys, please) might charge anywhere from $50 to $300 per hour.
Whenever Santa’s paycheck is mentioned in the media, Mesco’s phone line is flooded with wannabes. But there’s a lot of variation in what Santas make based on location and experience, she cautions. Those top earners tend to be the few Santas who have the right look and acting skills for television and print ads, she says. The market is competitive, especially in suburban areas where there might be a veteran Santa who has held court in the local mall for years. Then there’s that Christmas spirit thing. Plenty of Santas appear for free at children’s hospitals, shelters and other community events, according to The Kringle Group, LLC, a network of companies that includes a Santa school and Santa booking agency. “The vast majority of Santas do not make much money at it,” says Sanderson, who interviewed more than 100 of his bearded colleagues for the documentary. “It’s a lifestyle choice, but you can’t make a living at it.”
2. “I’m high maintenance.”
Becoming Santa isn’t as simple — or as cheap — as slipping into a $30 outfit from the costume shop. The signature red suit can cost anywhere from $400 to $2,000, depending on the materials and embellishments, and many Santas have more than one outfit. “Santa has amazingly upgraded his wardrobe in the last five years,” says Theresa Saidy, owner of Adele’s of Hollywood, which designs costumes for rent and sale. More Santas are ordering variations such as long European-style robes and holiday vests, she says. On a more practical level, a Santa might buy multiple suits with different linings to accommodate different temperatures, or to have a backup so there’s always a clean suit while the other is at the dry-cleaners.
Then there’s the accessories. “Really good Santa boots cost in the neighborhood of $800,” says Jennifer Andrews, who plays “Auntie Claus” at the Victor Nevada Santa School in Calgary. “A belt is another $300 to $350,” she says. White leather gloves add $300 to the tab and Santas routinely spend a few hundred more for bulk packs of white cotton gloves that can be changed frequently to avoid spreading germs among visiting kids. Then there’s that long flowing beard. The best wig and beard sets are made out of yak hair and cost $1,000 to $1,500. Even Santas with their own beards may spend $600 a year at the salon to keep it snowy white.
3. “Seeing me can be traumatic.”
Last year, 10-month-old Nora cried and cried the first time she met Santa. So this time around , the family took great pains to ease the toddler into the experience, says Nora’s dad, Paul Johnson, of Silver Spring, Md. They went to the mall just as it opened on one of Santa’s first days there in early November, and brought along Nora’s grandmother, a family therapist. For nearly half an hour, a calm and happy Nora watched Santa take a photo with her grandparents and talk with her parents. But when it came time to snap her own photo on Santa’s lap, Nora went into “full civil disobedience protest mode,” complete with eyes scrunched tight, flailing arms and tears galore, Johnson says.
Young children are often terrified of Santa, much to the dismay of parents, who, among other things, have just shelled out $15 for a photograph. It could be the beard that’s scary, or the fact that Santa is, after all, a perfect stranger or simply, the power that Santa represents. “Here’s this person who is in charge of their presents,” says Michael Carnell of Charleston, S.C., who plays Santa for his local church. “No wonder kids get scared.” The loud music, lights and ear-splitting “ho-ho-hos” don’t help either. All of this can be especially frightening to special needs children, says Jessi Fausett, marketing director for mall developer Glimcher Realty Trust, which offers early morning “Sensitive Santa” sessions for autistic children in its 23 properties nationwide. Parents looking to avoid the trauma and get a photo worth its price should aim to arrive early on a weekday when the mall is less crowded and Santa has more time to coach a reluctant child. It also helps if you’re willing to get in the photo, too, Carnell advises.
4. “I went to school for this.”
Nearly 90% of Santas have a college degree, according to an annual survey from The Kringle Group. But that doesn’t necessarily prepare them for this job. So many pay as much as $1,000 in tuition and other costs to receive specialized training at a professional Santa school. On the syllabus: Sign language, voice projection and storytelling, an immersion course in the six levels of child development and 30 different ways to work with a hesitant child.
Extra schooling plays more of a role in Santa’s financial success than many will admit. Big malls and other companies in a position to hire usually turn to these schools for recommendations. A Santa who isn’t a former student won’t be on their radar and thus would miss out. Andrews of the Victor Nevada Santa School, which is also an agency, says such recommendations are a natural offshoot because schools have seen a variety of Santas in action. “I see hundreds of these guys, so I know who the good ones are and where their strengths are,” she says.
5. “I have a quota.”
Remember that scene in “A Christmas Story” when the department store Santa extends a booted foot to push Ralphie down the exit slide? That’s not too far from reality. “Kids are lucky to get 30 to 40 seconds,” says Kennison Kyle, a substitute mall Santa from Memphis, Tenn., who primarily appears at private parties and home visits. Mall photo companies tend to hire Santas on salary only, but those who partner with a photo operation at other venues may get a cut of the photo fees or a bonus if they see a set number of kids. Santas also face pressure to move things along quickly when lines get long, says Tim Connaghan, chief executive of The Kringle Group and the official Santa for the Hollywood Christmas Parade.
Parents who want their kids to get more quality one-on-one time may have better luck if they avoid peak days such as Black Friday and Christmas Eve, or show up earlier in the day. Connaghan says some stores and even private parties spread the workload among several St. Nicks, with elves leading people from the line into one of several Santa rooms for a private visit. That can also allow for longer visits, he says. (A Macy’s spokeswoman declined to confirm that Santaland operates this way, saying, “We hold true to the premise that Macy’s has the one and only Santa.”)
6. “My smile makes you spend more.”
If you get away with buying only the glossy photo when you take your kids to visit Santa, consider yourself fortunate. Malls and other retail venues are eager to have Santa in place shortly after Halloween because they know they can count on weeks of extra impulse buys from parents, says Betsey Holloway, a professor at Samford University’s Brock School of Business in Birmingham, Ala. Visitors may pick up a gift their child asked for, give in to the lure of a sale sign, or just buy a few snacks to make the wait in line more bearable. Santa’s power goes even further. His image or presence is a subliminal spending trigger, says Michael Denning, a marketing professor at Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business. “The concept of a jolly old elf who gives things away suggests I should be doing that, too,” he says. “How can you say no to Santa?”
Santa himself may not be in for the hard sell. Experts say those with training know to avoid promising or pushing any product. Kyle says tells kids the same thing his father — a long-time Santa, himself — did: “Santa’s not going to promise that you’re going to get everything you ask for, but he promises you’re going to like everything you get.” If tots are asking for this year’s hot holiday toy, well, “the elves may be having a hard time keeping up with demand,” he says.
7. “I’m on the naughty list, myself.”
A few Santas deserve coal in their stocking. A small percentage (7%) of mall Santa applicants have been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor, according to a 2003 survey from Pre-Employ.com, which conducts background checks. Mesco from American Events & Promotions says she has turned down a number of Santas with scary pasts, including one who confessed to having done time for murdering his wife. Police in Oshawa, Canada arrested a mall Santa in September on charges of possessing child pornography and another Santa in Nebraska faces similar allegations stemming from an investigation last year.
Santa training schools say it’s rare for a dangerous person to make it past the job application phase. “We do national background checks on all of our Santas,” Mesco says. Problem applicants are rejected. She advises people hiring a Santa for a private home visit or a party to confirm that the booking agency does a similar check.
8. “Bah, humbug is my middle name.”
“Will someone just get this fat baby off my lap?” Barbara Weiner of Boca Raton, Fla., was shocked when she heard Santa say those very words back in 2003 at a local shopping mall. She was horrified when she turned around and realized the baby in question was her three-month-old grandson. “I wanted to walk over to Santa and say, ‘This job isn’t for you,'” she says. “What a shame for those poor children who had to meet him.” Weiner hasn’t brought her grandson, who is now eight, back for a visit since. His two younger siblings have never met Santa at all.
Santa is supposed to be jolly, but sometimes 12-hour work days, limited breaks, endless lines, cranky children and crankier parents get the best of even the most well-trained St. Nicks, experts say. Then there’s the added stressors: A third of Santas report a child has peed on them and 73% say a child coughs or sneezes directly in his face at least once a day. “Handling that is all part of the makeup of being Santa,” says Connaghan. “There are only certain people who can do this.”
Friendly Santas develop a following, so ask local parent groups which venue has the Santa with the best reputation, advises Andrews. “The mall that has the best Santa has a competitive edge,” she says. It also helps to visit early in the season and early in the day, when Santa is fresh.
9. ” The recession hit the North Pole, too.”
Santa’s workshop may seem a little spare this year. Although having Santa around generates plenty of extra revenue, retailers are feeling the pinch from the recession and are cutting back on amenities like elves and elaborate sets. “Four years ago, there was a competition to see who could have the most lavish displays, with live reindeer and other extravagant extras,” Denning says. “Now, [venues] aren’t spending the kind of money they used to spend.” Doug Topham, owner of Christmas Light Decorators, which creates displays at 270 locations across the West Coast, says roughly half of his clients have cut back, and are moving away from elaborate lighting to greenery like trees and garlands, which can be less expensive. Andrews says she hasn’t seen any dip in Santa hiring, although some malls are looking for the lowest salary available. “They really want to have it cheap, cheap, cheap,” she says. “They’re willing to pull some guy in off the street, or put an employee in a suit and beard.”
For the Santas themselves, at least, things seem to be turning around. Connaghan recently helped photo studio CPI Corp. book 461 Santas to do three weeks of work at the company’s portrait studios, which include locations in Wal-Mart and Sears. Microsoft booked another 50 for a promotion with Southwest offering free Santa photos at 20 airports nationwide. “For me it was an omen on the economy,” he says, “because that many Santas got work that wasn’t available last year.
10. “I’m the real Santa.”
Every Santa wants to be thought of as the real Santa — it’s a mark of pride to have a child declare you as such, says Santa Kyle, who tallied a number of such fans at a 2009 “Celebrate Santa” convention. “If they’re good, they won’t admit it,” he says. Why? It helps kids enjoy the magic that much longer as they encounter different Santas. “We’ll say, the real Santa’s here, but you’ll know when you meet him,” he says. The real Santa just has plenty of other Santa helpers that show up at malls, homes and everywhere else to help him out during the Christmas season, Sanderson explains. “We’re Santa’s regional representatives,” he says. And those curious youngsters will often point out that the Santa they’re meeting at the mall isn’t the same one who made a visit to their school, or that this one seems to have a fake beard, he says. “We’re not in the business of lying,” confirms Andrews. “If a child says, ‘Are you the real one?’ our Santas will say, ‘Are you the real you? Then I must be the real me.'”
Letters to the North Pole for comment on where consumers can find the real Santa weren’t returned.
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