Part 2 of “You Want to be a Santa”
You have now gotten past the first set of questions to ask yourself and are ready to go onto the next step. The next thing you need to ask yourself is:
What type of Santa jobs do I want to do?
a. Mall
b. Corporate/Company events
c. Home parties for families
d. Photo Shoots at photo studios and for print ads
e. TV Commercials
f. Media/public appearance
This question is one of the most important to answer before booking your first gig.
Each type of job takes a different personality and can be physically stressful in different ways. The most common Santa job is the “Mall Santa”.
Mall Santa’s require a very fit and happy person! Most mall jobs are 10-11 hour days with a couple of 15 minute breaks and one lunch and dinner break. There are long hours of sitting and smiling. Santa will ask 100’s of children what they would like for Christmas and some of these requests will be hard to respond to. A Mall Santa needs to be well versed in how to respond to the tough questions that some children want for Christmas. For example, I heard of a child that asked Santa “Will you make mommy and daddy happy again so that they can live together?” or “My daddy is in Iraq, will you bring him home for Christmas?” These types of questions always throw me for a loop when I am on the set with a Santa and I am always amazed at the wonderful Santa’s that I have had the privilege to work with that can answer these heartbreaking questions without faltering. A great resource to answering questions of this sort would be Richard Christies “Becoming Santa” and can be ordered on http://www.santabelts.com/.
Mall Santa’s need to understand that this job is repetitive and can be stressful when you see a line of 60+ kids that are getting anxious and parents that are losing their patience waiting. Photographers and Set Managers may become irritable and snippy. It is up to Santa to keep the peace and set the standard. The Mall Santa is great for a person who is shy and does not want to necessarily be the center of attention and take charge of a group. The atmosphere is more intimate with a child and parent smiling for the photographer in a structured setting.
If you are taking a mall position that is out of state and you are negotiating this contract it is important that you make sure all the necessities are covered. For example, hotel, per diem, breaks, lunches, dinner, suit cleanings, a dressing area, transportation (air fare, cab, rental car), toll fees, parking fees, overtime hours, days off, and of course, your salary.
A mall Santa does not make a large hourly wage but the hours add up and the end result will be around $7,000 to $8,000 pay range for a six week period. There have been rumors out there that some Santa’s make 20K + in a season for a mall – and after 7 years in this business, I have not seen one yet!
A more outgoing Santa would be interested in doing Corporate/Company parties. There is such a wide variety of Corporate parties and it would be wise to ask the person booking what they would like Santa to do. Many companies have Santa come in and take pictures with employees and their children, but with the expense of Christmas parties and companies scaling down their budgets many of these parties do not include children or spouses any longer. Corporate parties over the years have become more adult oriented and Santa could be asked to hand out the bonus checks and take pictures with the employees in a traditional sit-down dinner or luncheon. Or there is the complete opposite (these are starting to increase over the years) to a rowdy open bar party with dancing and DJ’s. In these settings Santa usually takes pictures with employees and is asked to stay and partake in the party. There was a particular party in the past that asked for a Santa to hand out checks. They also booked a Mrs. Clause through another company who specialized in X-rated characters. Santa was VERY surprised and embarrassed to have a Mrs. Clause jump out of a fake Christmas tree to help entertain while he handed out checks. As stated earlier – IT IS WISE TO ASK WHAT THE CUSTOMER IS EXPECTING BEFORE BOOKING. Otherwise this could be uncomfortable. If you do not mind the rowdy drinking parties, always remember, it is never wise for Santa to drink at any function – it is not good for marketing if Santa is on the 10 o’clock news being tested for a DUI.
A Santa that can get the energy going for a company party and leave without compromising his integrity or values will be highly recommended by all the participants of the party and will bring repeat business year after year. The pay scale for Corporate party Santa’s is and average of $100 per hour.
A more subtle take to the Corporate party is the Home party. These are becoming more and more common over the years. Most home parties consist of family and friends with small children and they have hired a Santa to make a special visit to their home. It is very common for one person in the neighborhood to have a Santa, however, the next year the neighbor will want one for themselves and your clientele is endless! There is a Santa that I know of that has 8 houses in one neighborhood that he does every year. He charges them each a minimal fee and spends 5-6 minutes with each house. In course of less than 1 hour he has done the neighborhood and made twice his hourly fee with one trip.
A Santa with an outgoing personality and the ability to seem harmless to small children who are scared of him will make a great Home party Santa. The pay on these types of events varies from one end of the scale to the other, but the average is $100 per hour. Keep in mind, if you are around small children – it is not uncommon for a parent or person booking the event to ask for a copy of your background check. These are a must-have in this day and time. It is also necessary when booking any event for a school or city sponsored event.
The Photo Shoot Santa is for the shy Santa. This Santa needs to have all the “strike a pose” ability and be “America’s next top Santa”. There are no speaking parts in this job but you must possess the “Perfect” All-American Coca-Cola Santa look. This includes the well manicured beard, mustache, and hair, blue eyes (contacts work fine) and rosy cheeks. This job is mostly done in a photo studio for magazine and catalog advertisements. Pay for the Photo Shoot Santa is generally done in a flat rate for a block of hours.
The TV Commercial Santa is a perfect job for the person who enjoyed drama as a kid. The ability to act and take instruction are a must. Membership to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is also necessary when auditioning for these jobs. The competition is fierce and it is always good to ask as many questions beforehand to get an idea of what the director is looking for before auditioning. The pay for a TV commercial varies greatly depending on the amount of talk and camera time. Residuals are negotiated at the time the contract is signed.
And lastly, there is the Media/Public Appearance Santa. This is for the fine-tuned Santa. The Media Santa needs to have the looks, the suit, the take charge voice, an ability to take the audience on a journey and hold their attention, including all the viewers that are watching them on television. This Santa needs to have ALL the answers and the ability to be interviewed without being stumped. All eyes will be upon you and if you are camera shy – this is not the job for you. You must posses something special because you will be interviewed and auditioned to the limits. It is a tough industry out there and Santa’s can be extremely competitive. However, this is not the time to add “DIVA” to your resume. I have noticed that over the years the Santa’s that have become self-absorbed and have ego’s that are blown out of proportion to their abilities are being passed up for Santa’s that are very new to the Santa experience and have kept true to their values.
I hope that this has been helpful in determining what type of Santa job you want to book for your future events. In the next segment of this article we will cover the small necessities that will be asked of you when booking your events such as:
Do I have helpers, Mrs. Clause, elves?
Agent vs. Independent contractor
Props
Marketing
Insurance
Special talents
Foreign languages
Overseas/travel
Pay