Missed Opportunities

The weekend before Christmas used to be our busiest weekend. Unfortunately, the economy had different plans, so we actually had no bookings the Saturday before the holiday. We were very surprised, but it gave us an opportunity to relax and catch up with each other after some busy weeks. Around 2 pm that day the phone rang with a desperate man hosting a party that night in a suburb of Scranton and can Santa make a visit? Good thing the weather was decent that day - there were ice storms the day before - so we agreed we could do the gig that night. Out of curiosity, we asked how he found us. He relayed a long and convoluted story that involved the mall Santa getting the flu, then the manager of the mall booth helping the gentleman by finding our advertisement with the local TV classifieds on-line. I do not think my PS knows this manager of the Santa booth, but he might from his mall days - we may never know.

We find the house that night and we also found the enclave of very large mansions that seem to be somewhere in every metropolitan area. This one is near a nationally known golf course (duh!), but we never knew it was there. So through a stroke of luck my PS was doing a gig for a very well connected political family in Lackawanna county. They did not know my PS does stories and songs - they thought they were getting a mall Santa who would just sit there and listen to children's wishes for Christmas. They were very pleased and the gentleman has booked for the Saturday before Christmas for next year. Many of the people at the party were talking about booking my PS next year and took our business cards. This may be the break we have been looking for up here!

The next day we had another Breakfast, as well as a private party for a little girl's birthday. This is the missed opportunity, as we got another snow storm with freezing rain all morning. Too bad we don't have reindeer! Snow is one thing, but ice is scary on mountain roads - or anywhere. We had to cancel both gigs. The Breakfast was no problem, as the restaurant where we had the booking never opened that day. But the little girl... hate to disappoint children.

Every booking, unless they are friends, gets a contract. We have a special clause (no joke) that basically states that nobody is liable if weather or 'Acts of God' prevent an appearance. Good thing, but that does not make up for the little girl...

Escapes and Turn-Arounds

Santa is a mythical creation and should have the power to magically appear and disappear before and after each visit. He is supposedly also able to know all - names, wants, etc. Well, as a Professional Santa, we use some tricks to get the information - 'elf lists,' parental intervention ("Tell Santa about the puppy..."), clues on clothing and the like. But that appearing and disappearing trick is another matter... If a party is in a business, or party room at a restaurant, or something like that - we can call ahead and arrange for a changing/preparation room. Even then, the arrival and departure is tricky; it is all part of keeping the 'magical' aspect of Santa.

This Weekend

The one party was at an Elks Lodge for one of our repeat clients. We packed up at 6 am to drive down to the spot in NJ, but roads were icy around our area, so the trip took longer than the original plan. To expedite matters, my PS wore the fur-trimmed pants to his costume, covered by a big overcoat. (This got some funny looks and some finger pointing when he had to get out to pump gas and get coffee - 6 am, after all!) We arrived with 15 minutes to spare at the gig, but as my PS was getting his gear out of the car, some children started to arrive and walk by the car. Thinking fast, he dove into the back seat and tried to look like part of the clothes laying there. Of course, I did not see the children, so I am talking to the new pretend pile of clothes. Now I am getting looks!

Seeing the coast was clear, we hurried in the front door and into the nearby room set up for my PS to change. Okay, 3+ hour drive = need restroom! We enlisted a nearby child-free adult to escort and maintain a perimeter. (If this is sounding like a military-type operation, sometimes it feels that way!) That pressing matter relieved (sorry), my PS gets ready for his gig and I wait out in the car. Usually, I read or nap; after being up since 5 am - I napped. After the party, my PS calls me on the cellphone and I bring in the change of costume for the next gig, as it is at a private home. We have to wait for all the children to leave before he can escape. Since Santa did not get to eat, I bring in only the pants (with fur trim, of course) and clean shirt so we can get some take-out food for lunch before the next party. So where does he put on the top to his costume? In the private party's garage! We call ahead to the host, who also happens to be a good friend, and ask to have the garage door opened so my PS can change. Good thing our host has a sense of humor, as well as the where-with-all to keep children away from the garage area, which has windows! Who knew?

Did we always have this trouble? Yes, and no. At one time my PS had a Volkswagen Vanagon, which had curtains and was tall enough to partially stand up so he could change. But nothing lasts forever; we still say, 'it ran well, it just did not go anywhere,' after the transmission got messed up! We bought another van, but again, nothing lasts forever... Now we travel in a Toyota Camry - good gas mileage, lousy for changing. The vans were not perfect either - every year there is at least one child who wants to 'see the reindeer' and chases my PS out of the party. Then there is a collaborative effort between parents, other adults and my PS running serpentine so the vehicle is not spotted! (Told you it was like a military thing.)

Turn-Arounds

I am beginning to think that some people assume Santa knows his way anywhere and give us directions that seem clear only to people who live in that area. Or, better still, they say "Same place as Last Year, so you know where it is." Let me say this - assume Santa is old and needs more direction! After all, the real Santa has the reindeer and Rudolf to lead - my PS has me and I do not have any magical powers! However, it is fortunate that my mother at one time went to Bingo at this Elks Lodge and I knew some back streets when we got almost impossibly lost when street signs were missing that were part of the directions. It was a case of "I think this road leads us back to..." and looking for a familiar landmark that has not changed since I was 12 (I will not tell you how many years that would be...)

So we were lucky (did I mention this all took place on the 13th!) - we did the parties, we had our fun, we are driving back to the Poconos when the cellphone rings. It is our good friend from the last party telling us we forgot the Autoharp! We were 30 minutes away already, but we turn around and go back to get it, since my PS has a "Breakfast with Santa" the next morning and that is part of the 'act.' We get home, finally, and hurry to bed - the next day is another 5 am wake-up call!

Princeton Tree Lighting

It is now twenty years that my PS has lit the tree at Princeton Palmer Square. We are proud of that and I think that we should be. But every year I try to watch the lighting, try to scope out a good location for pictures, video, etc. And every year I am overwhelmed by the turnout of people, and how noisy and tall they are. The stage is on the square in front of Nassau Inn - an original building from before the Revolutionary War, so not many modifications can be made to make viewing better. That explained, my PS still makes a spectacular entrance through the tavern's doors and is greeted by the crowd of 10,000.

This year, I think in honor of our longevity, the Nassau Inn gave us a room overlooking the square from the east side - 5 th floor. I finally got to see and, I hope, take decent pictures. (I used my old 35mm camera with a strong zoom, so they have to be developed.) I feel I need to say that the whole program was wonderful. There was a band to perform the Christmas songs, a high school choir to perform carols, and a little family theatre troop to recite "The Night Before Christmas." (As an aside, the original poem mentions smoking - "pipe in his teeth", etc. - we asked that to be left out, but tradition...)

All this was nice, and folksy, etc., but when it comes time for Santa, the crowd goes wild! The merchants association have a 'volunteer' (dressed as Santa) 'arrive' on the roof by shining a spotlight on him, then seconds later, my PS appears. He has the crowd in the palm of his hands, flashbulbs go off, children yell to him - amazing! Then, he says a few things about the songs and stories, but the people are here for one thing - to light that tree! So he has everyone yell "Merry Christmas" once, but, of course, they do not yell loud enough. So he has the crowd yell "Merry Christmas" again and the roar that occurs is truly deafening. I have never heard such a remarkable coordinated bellow. The tree lights up, everyone sings "Jingle Bells" and then they start filing out of the square and side streets, all boisterous and happy and excited. This must be a successful event, as the merchants gear up for it every year and there are many happy faces the next morning - the kind of happy faces that occur when they feel it is a good time to be a store owner.

So my PS does the same thing every year - the two 'attempts' at lighting, the magical appearance, etc. But the crowds would not be there if they did not like it. And this year a line up of children formed at the bottom of the stage to see Santa, give him their lists, tell him their wants, etc. Usually the merchants association wants to wrap up the festivities, pack up the equipment and get back to normal. But this year they waited for Santa to visit with the children. It truly was a magical evening.

Surprise Bookings

My PS was very well liked in our previous home town. We very rarely wanted for bookings and often repeat customers would rearrange their scheduled parties in order to be sure my PS would be the entertainment. I think the most surprising was an entire town's tree lighting was moved in order to have my PS be the one to light the tree! The same town did not want to hear that a blizzard would prevent him from attending the festivities - they sent their fire chief over to our house to drive him over the treacherous roads to light their tree. Could make for an inflated ego, but we are just amazed and humbled.

This year, the same town insisted that we drive the three hours to have my PS light their tree again. So we called some of our repeat customers and asked if they would like to have a Santa visit that weekend as well. While we might have driven that distance for the one booking, it is better to combine trips, save gas, and allow some people who were disappointed with our moving away an opportunity to have a Santa visit. It is amazing to me, but almost all said 'yes' and we have a full weekend of bookings. In addition, a good friend is letting us stay in her guest room - her feeling is that it is a tradition that we stay with her one weekend over each Christmas season. So that worked out.

We are still working on building the reputation in our new home area. This involves the same concepts as any new business - advertising, networking, offering reduced prices, etc. A surprise booking came through a local restaurant - entertaining at the annual dinner for the organization that my PS is a part of during the 'off-season. ' With the current economy, my PS probably picked a bad time to be a realtor, but the association is having a holiday party and my PS is the featured entertainment. And no, they did not realize he is a Professional Santa - good thing, or they might expect him to entertain for free! The whole thing is kinda funny, but it can be considered networking. Or, at least a gig on a Wednesday night.

Bookings

Santa is well known, but the person representing him needs to develop a following. In order to accomplish this, sometimes my PS has to do some 'Good Will' appearances. Generally, we prefer to do our charity appearances with Toys For Tots. The fun aspect of this, aside from helping needy children and seeing the looks on people's faces, is the appearances usually involve motorcycles and/or firetrucks. This is where the little boy in all men tends to come out; the 'when I grow up' aspect. So today my PS is ushering in the season by doing a ride-along on a firetruck with a bunch of bikers and the Marines. How cool is that!

The economy is hitting the Santa business this year hard. Where we would have been booked for most weekends by now, many of our regulars are backing out due to fear of the recession looming or a general lack of funds. We have been lucky over the years, as most of my PS's bookings have been through word-of-mouth and his winning personality, but this year we have to re-double our marketing efforts. The biggest expense in the previous years, besides costumes and their maintenance, has been for business cards and postcards. I design and print them, so the ink and paper costs were biggest part of that, with postage being the third cost. But this year we have to advertise in the local newspapers. We are hoping that this helps us pick up some gigs. If not, there is always the mall!

Costumes

As Ms Claus, I design and construct all of my Professional Santa's costumes. That said, this means that you will rarely see my PS in the traditional red and white jacket and pants, unless requested by the customer. In some cases, in order to maintain a tradition or a 'look,' we have to drag out the red wool and fur. It is hot and has to be dry-cleaned after each use. The dry-cleaning expense is the primary reason I started making the outfits out of machine washable fabrics - that, and if you knew my PS, you would know that 'regular' is not his style.

I believe we get more bookings as a result of the difference in costumes, at least initially. Repeat bookings are due to my Santa's personality and talent. He does not just sit and ask children what they want, ho, ho, ho and all that normal stuff. He sings, tells stories, and involves the whole family in the celebration of the holidays.

Every costume has a personality, such as traditional, old world, fantasy, ethnic - we try to determine what will work best for each visit. (It thrills me to see the movies and TV shows using Santa costumes that show detail and little touches that represent Santa just as a cookie-cutter replica of what we see in print ads and decorations. My personal favorite is "The Santa Clause" costumes, with long fur and brocade and embroidery.) I try to take the time to add special elements, or at least something unexpected. In addition, every outfit has bells sewn somewhere into them, or bells are carried on the belt. Santa has to sound jolly, as well as be jolly!

The Belt

We have a specially made large (4") black leather belt that has "SANTA" stamped across the back. We could have had it inked in a different color or outline, but we think that the shadowy stamp of the letters is just enough. That way there is a back story if anyone asks - "The elves got together to make this belt for me, and I wear it with pride!" We had a hard time finding someone to make the belt for us, but we ran into a leather crafter at a craft show at our local mall. He was thrilled to make it for us and did not charge us as much as I think he could have, but I think he now has a client list of PS's. As he was part of one of those traveling shows that go around the country, we had to wait three months until he came back to town for the final fitting and tweaking, but it was worth it. (This was before the Internet became the place to find all the accessories needed - used to have to physically hunt down the stuff.)

The Boots

The boots were difficult to find at first. We used the boot toppers that come with the purchased Santa suits, but they are flimsy and look fake. A member of our family had bought a pair of motor cycle boots that did not fit correctly, so he offered them to my PS, who took the same shoe size. They had only been worn once, were black and came up high enough to look like real Santa boots! Who would know? Look closely at a pair of 'Harley' boots and a picture of Santa boots and, besides the logo, there is very little difference! Later we purchased some fancy cowboy style boots - for a little flair, and warm snow boots - for those gigs in the cold and snow.

The Fabrics

As I indicated earlier, I try to use only machine washable fabric. I do not dry the costumes (you only do that wrong once), so my PS had to have enough costumes to last two days at least, with three to four gigs per day. So, currently, we have 10 costumes, or 'rigs' as my PS calls them. Each is different and, except for the belt and boots, as its own accessories. They do wear out, so I try to make a new costume each year and donate an old one to charity - there has to be poor Santas somewhere! We have a couple that are made for outdoor wear - all white fur and heavy - but mostly the costumes are light weight to wear indoors, but look rich and heavy. The illusion is helped by good washable fur trim, which we seem to buy up at every opportunity.

All part of the work of being a Professional Santa.

Marketing

It is the end of July, so that makes it the start of Marketing Season! We have to get the word out in our new home area so we can get more gigs up here in North East PA.

We have plenty of work available back in Princeton. Our regular customers have already started calling to book for the 2008 Holiday Season, but we want to establish ourselves up here. That means new business cards and postcards (the postcards work best for local super markets and other stores), contacting local party planners, and taking advantage of every opportunity to get our name out there. My Santa is going on the radio for a 'Christmas in July' gig so he can promote himself. The good thing about this is no suit - and so we do not have to worry about how hot it is!

I try to get a new picture each year, so anyone we gave a card to last year remembers him, and yet it is new! Marketing! We also set up a new web site: visitsfromsanta.spaces.live.com - anything to get the face out there. Marketing! And, of course, since he has the white beard and hair, people see him as Santa all year anyway.

Illness

Santa is supposed to be a mythical type of person, like Mary Poppins, fairies and trolls. Santa is not supposed to get sick, right? Well, after small children sneeze and cough and other things on your mythical persona, illness can occur. The problem is the appointments that you have to keep when you feel like just going back to bed to rest.

My Professional Santa became very ill around Christmas one year and it was scary. The illness was not communicable to the children, thank goodness, but it meant that his resistance to infection was way down. So here is where Ms Claus has to become very involved and help with the scheduling and driving, as Santa was very worn and tired. One gig per day, not the usual 4 to 5 per weekday, up to 8 on weekend days. Eat healthy, drink plenty of water, no chills or over-heating, no dancing - and try not to hold everybody on your lap! But, even with planning and caution, sometimes a bug will get you and that year, it hit my PS hard. We had to cancel a couple of gigs. Except for one family where the woman threatened to sue my PS and yelled and screamed at him on the phone when he explained he was sick - she did not care! I was ready to go over there and talk about poor parenting (bring the illness into the house) and lack of Christmas spirit, but my PS said that he would do the best he could. So we drove over there, to a brand new huge house (these people had real money) and I sat outside while my PS did the gig. He made sure that none of the children sat on his lap, he had the children do most of the singing, and he wished everyone a very Merry Holiday and came out to meet me outside. The father walked my PS out, apologized and doubled My PS's normal fee. Still, it was a very scary Christmas for me and I thank God we lived through it to perform bigger and better the next year!

Incidents and Accidents

The Professional Santa expects some aspect to go wrong sometimes; the best that can be done is to prepare, and then work up contingencies. Pulling on beard = expected, child sneezing on you = expected, child has 'accident' of one form or another = expected. But some things can be totally out of left field and you have to react quickly.

Best example that we have is the time my PS was touring the shops of a town gig when a guy comes up and says something like "Santa, I got the stuff (okay, another word for 'stuff')." At this point the guy opens his coat and shows my PS a bunch of, presumably stolen, jewelry, watches, etc. But my PS was cool and saw the local policeman walking by, so my PS puts his arm around the guy's shoulder and guides him over to the police officer, telling the officer that he may wish to 'discuss' an important matter with this guy. Turned out the guy had arranged to 'fence the goods ' with a Santa in another town. Shame on that other Santa! Oh, and what a stupid crook!

Another time while working at a mall, which my PS avoids now if he can, a little boy, about 3 years old, saw Santa in the holiday display on the lower level, 30 feet below in what is normally the fountain area. The boy was so excited, he started to climb over the glass railing from his stroller and was close to the top of the railing when my PS saw him. His mother was distracted, all this took place in a matter of moments, but the possibility for disaster was very real. My PS excused himself from the little girl on his lap, ran to the middle where the escalators were and yelled up in a big, booming Santa voice "Get down from there or Santa will not come to your house for Christmas." He never dropped character, and he knew he would never be able to get to the child in time, nor would anyone else unless they saw the boy at that moment. The boy did get down, the mother scooped him up and thanked my PS profusely. My PS then finished with the child who he had put down, asked for time to 'feed the reindeer' and went for a break to stop shaking - this had really scared him!

Same gig at the mall, another day during the week, a little girl was playing in the Santa area. Everyone thought she was waiting for her mom to catch up, but after 30 minutes, Santa asked her where her parents were. The little girl replied that 'Mommy told her to wait here' - in effect, using the Santa people as an unpaid baby-sitter! When 'Mommy' showed up, my PS told her that she cannot do that, that liability issues could be involved, not to mention abandonment and that the next time it happened, the state social services would have to be called. Turned out that she had done this before, with the other Santa's, but none of the others had really noticed. In addition, she was having an afternoon affair with one of the employees in one of the mall stores. Wow!

All we can say is, be prepared!

End of Season

The last few days before Christmas are very hectic for the Professional Santa. It appears everyone wants a good PS at their party as close to the actual holiday as possible. This year with Christmas day on a Tuesday many people has a long weekend, so this year was very busy for us.

In addition, my PS recorded a radio commercial for his regular - off-holiday job at a restaurant here in the Poconos. They tried out a 'Dinner with Santa' on Christmas Eve. Turn out was decent, but they waited too long to advertise so many people had made other plans.

We have referred to this year as our building year, since we just moved up here from NJ last year. It takes time to build a reputation and a following when you first start out as a Santa. After all, people think there is nothing to it, just put on a suit and a beard and all, as I have said in previous posts. The people who booked us up here this year were impressed and plan to have us back next year.

This leads me to another point - marketing yourself as a PS. Always carry your business card, which should have a good picture of you in the full suit. Do not be reticient to hand a card out if someone makes the comment that you look like Santa. Make sure businesses in your area have your information early, as most plan their holiday promotions starting in July, then follow-up with a contact person around September. Be prepared to be included in promotional flyers,a nd make yourself available to get photos taken, record copy, etc. And, yes, keep the suit available in July for 'Christmas in July' sales. (We have a lightweight red cotton suit for just this type of gig - looks Christmas-y, but not as hot.) My PS has the real white beard that he trims back after the holiday, but still has a Santa look. If you have a real beard and can take it, try to keep it all year - it will help with bookings.