A Day Late and a Dollar Short

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 You might ask yourself why I am dressed as Santa Claus in this picture, and what that has to do with the Title of this post.  Really nothing.  Just a catchy phrase, more related to the fact that I had intended to publish this post Yesterday.  The Dollar Short is a misnomer, since yesterday, I had an unexpected, out of season, Santa Claus gig.  Generally, I don't get those that often, so it was an interesting break from the routine of work and chores.  

For my time and sweat, I earned $125.  As all Santa Claus earnings, this is "Fun Money", even though Uncle Sam will hear about it next spring. I say sweat, because the Santa outfit is a very good insulator... great for an outdoor even with the temperatures in the 40's.  Not so much during an indoor event with the thermostate set to 72 degrees.  This appearance was only for about 30 minutes in the suit, but even after this short time, I t-shirt and dress shirt under the jacket were soaked.

And no, I don't wear this outfit outside in Summer!  If I get that kind of appearance, it involves Santa's vacation look...  Golf shorts, a red-and-white striped t-shirt, and red or black sneakers.

I have been serving as Santa Claus for the last 7 years, generally in November and December.  I have moved into that nitch of Santa's that performs at Subdivision parties, Home visits, and Office parties.  A real hodge-podge.  Since I still have some connection to a job during the weekdays, I generally only make appearances nights and weekends.  This year, I have decided that if a weekday daytime event comes up, that I will use a vacation day to make my visit.  Yesterday was one such weekday event.  This one was a short photography session for a law-firm wishing to make Christmas related videos for the upcoming season.

This kind of event is a little outside my usual routine.  Generally, I do work with photographers during the first half of November.  After Thanksgiving, its all about entertaining children and making sure that they continue to believe in St. Nick.

Is this a job that anyone can do?  Probably, but I cam to it naturally, since I tend to run to fat, and have worn a beard for 40-odd years.  When it started to go grey, it make sense to take up the mantle of Santa Claus.  What is more important the the beard and weight issues is the ability to perform for the little ones (as well as the not-so-little ones).

I work with a lady as Mrs. Claus most of the time.  For gigs like a home visit, we ALWAYS go in singing... "You better watch out...".  We sing other songs that the children can join in with (e.g.:  Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Jingle Bells, etc.)  At the end of our appearance, we generally leave singing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas...".e

Story telling is a big part of this.  Each Santa will tell similar stories, although each adds embelishments based on their visualization of the North Pole, Elves, Reindeer, etc.  Most import is the idea that you never tell the same stories that you have in previous years (kids are smart, and will remember if they've been in your audience).  Generally 5 or 6 years is enough to the little ones age out, to be replace by younger brothers and sisters.  That is a big part of the Santa work I do during the off season... coming up with new story ideas, and polishing them.

The other thing that Parents like is the photo with Santa.  This is the big driver of the Santa industry.  While there are still Santas who work in a Mall, it has become more common for some of us to perform in smaller venues.  I don't like working for a home visit with only one or two children (hard to get them to interact).  The sweat spot is 12 - 20 young ones, and since the cost of getting a Santa is often the same for a similar time, a lot of people have grouped up with neighbors to hire Santa and his Mrs. Claus in for photos and entertainment.

At the present moment, we only have an Internet presense on GigSalad, as MrsClausPlusSanta.  Generally, about 70% of our business is with repeat customers.  I find it to be a lot of fun, and very fulfilling to keep the Christmas Spirit strong it the youth.


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