It’s that time of the year again. The lights, the chilly weather, and most iconic, children investing time to piece together their exact wishes for Santa Clause. After overcoming the pandemic, children are once again able to see Santa in local malls and towns to express their deepest desires.
With the holiday coming up, there has been a high demand for Santa but there have been Santa shortages. The Santa community has slowly diminished since the pandemic. Due to such demand for Santa and a lack of them, many women have had to take on the role as well. 48 year old Melissa Rickard is one woman who has stepped into this role. She added that the children usually cannot tell she is a woman under the costume. Even with female Santas stepping into the role, there are still many issues and shortages.
For one, it’s difficult for someone to become a Santa. Santas have to pass background checks, and usually they have to have some kind of liability insurance. Also, many people have requested “their santa” be a real bearded Santa or a Santa of a specific ethnicity.
Inflation has had a large impact on Santa. One company that supplies Santas to stores and businesses that are in need believes the simple solution to the shortage of Santa is to raise his salary. It’s assumed that if Santa’s wages are increased, then more people are going to be interested in taking on the job because the job includes traveling and costume expenses, the red suit is not cheap, and an increased salary would offset these expenses. Some Santas said that “they are unbothered by the cost… They are not in the Santa profession to make a buck but to do it out of sheer joy” (AP News).