The story behind being Santa Claus
The Christmas season is upon us, which also brings a busy season for “mall” Santas and his happy helpers in venues everywhere.
Thousands of children race with their wish-lists in clutch to local malls and Christmas villages and have been since the early 1890’s.
For some, dressing up as Santa and spreading cheer throughout the holiday season is the best job in the world. But of course, being Santa is not always an easy task.
Despite what many people think, these Santas don’t just say “Ho! Ho! Ho!” and hand out candy canes to every person they meet. What people don’t see is how exhausting the job can be.
Jason Crockett has been Santa Claus at the Festival of the Seas for the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium in Draper, Utah for the last two years and shares some of the downfalls.
“The hard part is when you’re done, cause you have to keep your energy levels up so high for so long, that you crash kind of hard,” Crockett said.
Crockett works 40 hours a week at his regular job and roughly 30 hours a week as Ol’ Saint Nick. On Saturdays he often faces about twelve hours in the suit, with little chance of a break.
Although, the long hours are not the only struggle they must face this time of year.
Occasionally, someone will ask these Santas’ for a gift that cannot be given, such as a house, better friends or, in Crockett’s case, a dog that had recently passed. The most he can do is let them cry and hope things get better for them.
Dennis Stockberger has been Santa for 20 years, working nearly everywhere, including local malls, Christmas Village in Ogden and even in his own home.
Stockberger explained that he loves his job, however, working in a mall can be a hit or miss financially for Santa’s all around the U.S.
While some malls in the east supply their Santa’s with a good-paying gig, some can’t get the mall to pay them much of anything.
According to Stockberger, Santa’s will travel east to catch high paying positions making around $15,000-$25,000.
According to Crockett, The COVID-19 pandemic also took some of the joy that came with visiting Santa before Christmas.
Those wanting to see the famous man in the red suit had to stand six feet away and most of the time Crockett couldn’t hear what kids were saying because of it.
Stockberger was only able to do a fourth of the Santa gigs he had done in years previous and most of those consisted of small family parties.
This year the tradition of sitting on Santa’s lap has returned and people can choose if they want to wear a mask or not.
And believe it or not, there is a difference between a Santa with a real beard and one without.
Utah Santas is a website with 45 Santas on it, consisting exclusively of those who are real-bearded that you can book for family gatherings or other social events.
On the other hand, finding Kris Kringle with a very convincing fake beard shows they are dedicated because they are willing to pay the money. Same goes for those with two or three nice suits.
“I had people want me to do the Christmas tree lighting because I have a real beard,” Stockberger said. “And they want a real beard to wear it right in the Christmas parade.”
Despite some of the challenges that come with the job, both Crockett and Stockberger said there’s one thing that makes it worth it and motivates them each year: the children.
“When you get to see the kids’ faces, you can see the excitement, you can see the change and sometimes I have had it where you can see mom and dad’s faces change and they get emotional,” Crockett said. “This is what makes it worth it.”
Even some people, like Zac Sweeten, a sophomore at Utah State University, can appreciate the hard work that goes into being Santa.
Sweeten said he remembers feeling excited every Christmas to see the man who always ate the left out milk and cookies.
This proves that memories made as kids with Santa each year can stay with some people for even years after, which adds to the rewarding feeling for these jolly workers.
-Brielle.Carr@usu.edu