SANTA SHORTAGE LEADS TO A BUSY SEASON FOR PAIR
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APROFESSIONAL Santa from south Wales says he’s in huge demand after reports that the number of people donning a red suit to man grottos around the country has fallen.
Mark Roberts, a garden manufacturer, from Gelligaer, in Caerphilly borough, paid more than £10,000 for his sleigh, five reindeer, Santa suit, and beard, which cost hundreds of pounds alone and is made from yak wool.
Praised by parents as “the real Santa”, Mark’s social media page advertising his festive services has garnered thousands of followers and this Christmas, he’s been to Birmingham, Hampshire and Glasgow, where excitable children waited to meet him. During the 2023 season, he’s had more than 2,000 bookings.
Mark has spoken about life as a professional Santa during the same week it emerged the UK has seen a stark fall in the number of them. Simply Business, an insurance company covering people working as Santas, said it saw a 33% drop in Santas in the UK this year.
A combination of reasons have been blamed, including the pandemic leading to many having to quit and not returning to the job, people saving their pennies, and a lack of big events that book large groups of Santas.
But Mark, one of the more experienced Santas in the country, said if you’re good at it, you’ll earn a good wedge.
“Some people think it’s hard work if you’re getting minimum wage in a garden centre,” Mark told us from his home, where he has a huge grotto in his back garden at Aneurin Bevan Avenue for families to visit him there too. “But it can be great if you’re serious about it.
“You have to look the part - that’s the most important thing. I glue on my beard, which is proper yak wool and is £500 alone. Overall, my suit was £3,000.”
Mark said he had earned back what he forked out for his suit and reindeer quickly, and the job has been lucrative.
“If I could have had another month of it, I’d have been able to have a year off,” he said of the money he has earned.
“Booking hasn’t stopped. When my bookings open from 10am I’m inundated, the laptop doesn’t stop beeping.
“It’s impossible to make all of them. I’m finding myself having to apologise to a lot more people lately.”
On how he’s become such a popular Santa, he said: “You can’t cut corners and just buy a rubbish suit. The children point at me and say ‘real Santa’, and that’s why you become in demand.”
He said some people go into it thinking it’s easy money.
“It’s not easy, you’ve got to be jolly all the time. Sometimes you’ve got to spot when a child is scared of you and bring them around. It can be tricky to make sure every child leaves feeling great.”
Mark isn’t the only professional Santa in south Wales earning good money.
Allan Evans, a steelworker and Santa, who goes by the name Steel Works Santa, said: “We are doing really well at the moment. We started taking bookings in February this year which was a bit crazy, and we are now four weeks into a fully-booked season. It seems to me people are looking for more festive activities. Everything I earn I donate to charity. Last year, we raised over £10,000 and are hoping to do better this year.”
Jayne Darling, of Get Happy Entertainment, which recruits Santas, said the company is struggling to find people.
“We have been fully booked for Santa Clauses since January this year and are already booked out in December 2024.
“But we just don’t have enough St Nicks on our books to fill the spots. It’s a real shame.
“We’ve found recruiting professional Father Christmases since the pandemic has been very difficult.
“We are also now seeing increased demand for other Christmas characters like elves and the Grinch.”