SO IT’S COME TO KRIS
Santa shortage
Santa Claus may not be coming to town.
Americans are not just grappling with a supplychain shortage this Christmas — there’s also a dearth of Santas.
HireSanta.com has seen a 121 percent increase in people seeking Santas or Mrs. Clauses this year, compared with two years ago, according to Insider.
But The St. Nick site has been turning down new requests since the first week of November because all its Santas are booked.
“Hundreds of people a day have been reaching out to us,” founder Mitch Allen told The Washington Post. “We always sell out on weekends, but normally, it’s after Thanksgiving.”
Allen said that many of the Kringles, who are likely at higher risk of suffering from severe COVID-19 due to their age and high body-mass index, which is a comorbidity, may be skipping this year or retiring from the Santa industry for good because of the pandemic.
Others, he said, have died.
“Several hundred Santas and Mrs. Clauses over the last 18 months have passed away, and it’s just a tragedy,” Allen said, adding that some of those deaths may have been due to causes other than COVID.
Santa Tim Connaghan, the so-called “National Santa” for his role in major parades and the Toys for Tots program, said 18 percent of surviving Santas are sitting this year out.
“I’ve had all my shots and all my vaccinations, and I watch myself very closely,”
Connaghan said. “But I want to remain cautious, you know, and I’m also encouraging other Santas to do the same.”
Mezzanine Beecomb, the founder of Circus Modern, a San Francisco talent brokerage for party performers like Santas, told WaPo she’s been scrambling to complete the roster of five Santas she typically deploys during the holiday season.
Some applicants, she said, had no Santa experience, while others weren’t willing to work on Christmas Eve. Others were too young and some were women.
Doug Eberhardt, a Charlotte, NC-based Santa, said that event requests have spiked this year.
He has already booked 92 appearances between now and Christmas, he said.