Santa Shortage Affecting Holiday Parties This Christmas

It may be harder than ever this year to come across a Santa for your holiday parties and festivals. This Christmas season, there is a Santa shortage due to worker shortages and Covid-19.

In 2020, Santa’s across the country were losing their in-person jobs as many resorted to having to work as a Zoom Santa. As holiday parties and holiday shopping return to normal this year, many of the Santas are not available to return.

Mitch Allen, founder of HireSanta.com, a national database where people can hire Santas said:

“Everyone is wanting to go back to traditions. Our demand is up over 120% from pre-pandemic levels.”

Unfortunately, Hire Santa has been turning away requests for weeks. Allen noted that people feel “pent-up” from not being able to celebrate their holidays like normal last year. Malls, companies, and even families are desperately trying to hire Santas.

Santas can earn quite a bit of money during the holiday season. Santa’s can make around $30 per hour or more. If a Santa grows his beard and doesn’t need fake padding, he can be worth about $150 per hour.

Doug Eberhardt, a Santa based in North Carolina, said, “Across the board, I’ve seen an uptick in the number of requests, but once I’m full, I’m full. I’ve got 92 gigs booked between now and Christmas.”

To make matters worse, about 700 Santas passed away this year. Around 300-500 Santas died due to Covid-19. The men who work as Santa are older, making them more at risk of dealing with more severe complications from Covid.

Allen noted:

“Several hundred Santas and Mrs. Clauses, over the last 18 months, have passed away, and it’s just a tragedy. Not all of them died of COVID, but still, there are many Santas who are worried about having children who haven’t gotten their shots sitting on their laps.”

Tim Connaghan has been called ‘National Santa’ from his high-profile roles in parades and Toys for Tots. He acknowledged that 18% of Santa’s are sitting Christmas out this year. Connaghan took less work, even though he’s been vaccinated. He’s encouraging others to do the same.

A talent agency brokerage says they have been having trouble filling Santa positions. They’ve only been getting applications from people too young to be Santa. One application is even taking potential female Santas.

About
Latest Posts

Sarah Abrams

Sarah is a wife, new mom, and proud American living in Austin, Texas. She hopes her writing inspires others to seek truth and uphold the values that make this country great. When she is not writing about politics and culture, she enjoys cooking, trying new restaurants, and spending time outdoors with her family.