Ho Ho Oh No: Pandemic creates Santa shortage

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This article was published 24/12/2021 (1749 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If you were expecting Santa Claus to come down the chimney tonight you may be out of luck as the pandemic has created a Kris Kringle shortage.

Rozmin Watson, the North Pole operations manager for Hire A Santa, declined over 100 event bookings in Manitoba this winter.

“Before, we used to be able to send one Santa for like 50 families all on the same day (at a corporate party),” Watson said. “Now, those 50 families are all looking for Santa on this day and that day, at this time and that time.”

“There’s just not enough to go around.”

Watson’s Santas have visited homes, retailers and business functions this year. There was more demand than 2020, but less than pre-pandemic, she said.

Hire A Santa employs a dozen actors in Manitoba. All are still onboard, but many haven’t worked during the pandemic or have paused because of sickness.

“There’s a shortage in all provinces, including Manitoba,” Watson said. “I could hang up the phone and… six people could quit on me, because they… feel ill or something.”

Santas are typically older, meaning they’re more vulnerable to a severe case of COVID-19. This has caused many to rethink going out in their white beards and red caps.

Those who do must wear a mask for the entire shift, which can be up to 10 hours, Watson said.

“If they have asthma, it’s hard for them,” she said.

And, a lack of available staff means actors can’t swap sitting on the chair — instead of two people with four hour shifts, one person could take an eight hour one.

“A lot of people think they can just hop in a red suit and just be Santa, and that’s not the case at all,” Watson said. “You have to find very authentic and genuine (people), and it’s not always easy to find them.”

Though the holiday season is ending, Watson is hiring: she expects a Santa shortage moving forward because some workers decided to retire during the pandemic.

Hire A Santa turned down nearly 500 events across Canada this year, Watson said.

Alexis Johnson, a seasonal employee of Scheme A Dream, schedules Santas for Manitoba events.

“This year, we are very, very busy. I’ve got all the Santas out working,” she said Tuesday.

She estimated the holiday calls are between 50 and 75 per cent of a pre-pandemic year. However, the landscape has shifted — half the time, Santa is at a corporate party, but otherwise, he’s at houses. Some families wave from the doorway while he stands on the driveway, while others invite him inside. A few request Zoom calls.

“It’s not the way it used to be — children aren’t able to sit on Santa’s lap — but there is a way of taking a photograph where the child is in front of Santa and still looks as if he or she is with Santa,” Johnson said.

Both parties are masked and maintain a six-foot distance, she said.

Scheme A Dream is down two of nine performers. The duo isn’t vaccinated, and only double-dosed Santas can go out. Still, the company is making it work, Johnson said.

“Santa’s larger than life, and he just brings such joy to the children,” she said. “It’s really wonderful to be able to do that this year.”

Being Santa is also a mood-booster, according to a performer in the business for 31 years. It’s what’s kept Jason Jones zipping up his red suit during the second COVID-19 Christmas.

Jones, 49, volunteers as Santa for small events near his home in Domain, Man. His largest affair this winter was a Breakfast with Santa in La Salle.

“I was kind of really iffy, on the fence about it,” he said. “But then once I was there, and the first kids came by, and the kids were so happy… That’s what makes me happy, it truly does.”

The year has been challenging — there are requests from vaccinated and unvaccinated folks to navigate, concerns about a fast-spreading variant and guests’ differing levels of safety.

“I think as long as I follow all the rules… It’s going to be what it’s going to be,” Jones said Tuesday.

Clowns, Magicians and More, an East Kildonan-based company, said they have not faced a Santa shortage this year. Rather, they’ve seen a shortage of Santa bookings due to the pandemic.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com