Beard Prejudice

Professional Santas who have a "real" beard are very lucky and very well appreciated, especially monetarily. My PS is one of those lucky guys who has had his beard change naturally to a lovely silvery white as he has gotten older. For a while it had a gray-ish tinge, which we tried to bleach out. That was a trial and a bit of a failure, so we decided that if his personality did not sell the character, then he was in the wrong line of work. Again, he was lucky in that nobody noticed what we thought was a defect - he even had comments about how nice it was to have a real-beard Santa! If you read through some of the Santa blogs, the guys get neurotic about the beard; how long it should be, should it be curled, should they bleach and how to bleach. It wears on a person's mind after a while and causes my PS and I to have long discussions about it. Here are my feelings:*If the beard is white, or close to white, use your own beard. If it is not white, look on-line for a good fake beard, like ones used in all the Santa movies. They are out there, they are expensive, but no worse that constant bleaching of a person's real beard. Beard hair is course and hard to bleach, grows quickly, and the chemicals can damage your face.

*Curling is optional, as Santa is depicted with many versions of the beard. Again, beard hair is course and easily burned, as is your skin on your face. My PS does have naturally wavy hair, so sometimes he will wrap the beard hair around his fingers to give a little curl, but not too much.

*How long? Long enough to look like a beard, not a one-week growth. Take the time to cultivate the beard, with proper trimming and training, and plenty of time to get it right before the holiday season. I read a debate in one of the Santa groups about sleeping with the beard under or over the covers! Please, if it is that long, it starts to look fake again, and a little scary. My PS wears his as long as it covers his collar in the front - in other words, if he wears a bow tie, nobody can tell. Any longer and it gets wire-ry and too bushy.

*People come to see the Santa, not the beard. He needs a beard, but he also needs a winning personality.

But what about the other 11 months out of the year? How does a PS keep the beard and still find work? That has been our dilemma where we live in the Poconos. There is an antiquated viewpoint among many employers around here that a beard means unclean, unkempt, or (horrors!) you are an old Hippie! For an area that boasts many outdoor types, hunters and mountain-type guys, there is a prejudice against facial hair. Three day growths= fine; full beards and it may upset the guests, customers, etc.

Now the real beard is my PS's pride and joy, and his money. To shave it off in order to take a moderate-paying service job, like at some of the resorts up here, or some grocery stores, is just a pity. It is not like he can take off one month before the holiday season in order to grow in the beard! He has gone through the interview process, been welcomed with open arms, about to sign the papers to start work and the HR person has said "Oh, when you report to work, you need to shave the beard." Why? "Company policy." Why? "Sanitary concerns." For working at the front desk? The irony is that 'back-of-the-house' personal all had beards and they were doing the cooking, cleaning, etc. The resort had instituted the policy back in the 1960's as part of the knee-jerk reaction against the culture at that time and had never re-visited that policy. I guarantee you that my PS's beard is cleaner than most people's hair, but it is there and bothers some people - except at Christmas! When asked if an exception can be made, the person interviewing usually says "The beard doesn't bother me, but it is policy, so it has to be done." Frustrating!

My PS finds work, to be sure, but it hurts his pride that people cannot see beyond the facial hair - the rest of the year.

Transition to January

After all the hubbub and glory that surrounds a Professional Santa (PS) in the weeks preceding Christmas Day, there is a bit of a letdown emotionally in the weeks directly after. I know my PS does get a little depressed and misses the excitement, as well as being a center of attention. Personally, I look forward to Christmas Day as being the end of a whirlwind of activity involving getting my PS ready for his gigs. There is a whole logistical review of what costume gets worn to which gig, any repairs and cleaning that has to be accomplished, etc. So getting the costumes cleaned, tagged and put away means the start of a new year. And every year my PS and I have a little disagreement about how soon everything has to end... or start again. It is the different viewpoints that keep our relationship exciting, right?

So we have developed a sort of ritual. We ignore Santa for the week between Christmas Day and New Year's Day - unless by some stroke of luck we have a postponed or late Holiday party that needs a PS. (We have had that happen in previous years; this year, no.) Then we look over all the costumes to see if anything needs a better repair, or if it can be improved to be more 'wearable,' or more showy, then wash, hang to dry and assemble the costumes into storage bags, labeling so we know which costumes are contained within the opaque bags. One room in our house ends up looking like a costume house during this process. Still, we take our time with this part, so the transition is not so jarring - I learned this, after trying for many years, that to rush the process leads to a cranky hubby!

Before the trim, the week between the Holidays

After this, we have to lose the "Old Gentleman," as my PS sometimes calls his character. His beard and hair are now naturally white, so he can resemble Santa all year, but that makes it hard to transition into 'civilian' life. So the beard gets shaved down to a semblance of a three-day growth and his shoulder-length hair gets a major cut. He does the shaving, and I cut his hair (I have a bit of an ability to do this, after years of cutting first my mother's hair, then mine and his.) It is impressive how people react after the transformation. My PS went to his regular job after his normal days off and his co-workers did not recognize him! Shows how we expect people to look all the time, and how we become accustomed to the familiar.

This year, because bookings were down and the season did not have as many highs as usual, I thought I might show some solidarity by cutting my hair off as well. Not as a dramatic a transformation as losing the Old Gentleman, but I think it helped us both to see this year as a new start. (Of course, the weather has been incredibly cold since my decision, and I am not used to my neck being exposed, but that is a personal matter - that is why scarves were invented!)

And Santa will be back soon - the hair and beard will start to be allowed back in August. The cycle, Lord Willing and the creek don't rise, continues...

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!