Santa Claus is back by popular demand this holiday season.
He’s ringing donation bells, attending parades, lighting Christmas trees, and receiving children on his knee at shopping malls and private events.
The demand for professional Santas has never been higher since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, said Mitch Allen, founder of Hire Santa in 2012 and the company’s “Head Elf.”
“We have more clients than we have Santas. Many Santas do more than one event. We have hundreds of events daily,” Allen said.
A man wearing a Santa Claus costume helps an auto rickshaw driver to wear a protective face covering as he distributes the masks for free during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, in Ahmedabad, India, on Dec. 24, 2021. (Amit Dave/Reuters)
Allen estimates that demand for Santa is about 30 percent over 2021—up 125 percent over pre-pandemic levels….