Five Things You Didn’t Know About Mall Santas
Being a 'Mall Santa' seems like it would be an easy enough job right? You sit in a comfy chair and get adored by kids all day long, right? WRONG! Being a 'Mall Santa' most of the time means 12 hour work days with very limited breaks. Dealing with unruly kids and their parents demanding a perfect picture. It does have a good pay off though, if you can handle it.Here are five things that you probably didn't know about being a 'Mall Santa'.
- 1
Good Santa Equals Good Money
A 'Mall Santa' can average around $15,000 in just two months of work. Some of the best in the business claim to make near $80,000 throughout the holiday season. Some Santas can make extra money on the side by charging $50 to $300 per hour for private parties.
- 2
Getting Into The Business Can Be Expensive
So you like the idea of making good money in only two months huh? Well then you had better be ready to shell out some money to get into it. A good Santa suit can cost anywhere from $400 to $2000! A good wig and beard set can run as high as $1500 because the best are made of YAK HAIR! The worst part is that most Santa's need a second suit as a backup. Why you ask, just keep reading.
- 3
Being Santa Can Get Messy
Most 'Mall Santas' keep a back up suit just in case, because kids are not the cleanest people to be around. One third of Santas say that a child has peed on them at least once! At least 70% of Santas say that a child sneezes or coughs directly into their face at least once a day! While there are not many stats about kids puking on Santa, you know that happens quite a bit too.
- 4
Santa Is Smart
Almost 90% of 'Mall Santas' have a college degree according to 'The Kringle Group'. Sometimes a normal college degree is not enough for the job though. So a lot of them get special training at professional 'Santa schools,' which can cost as much as $1,000.
- 5
Santa Is Under Some Pressure
Santa has a quota put on him by the mall that he works at. The mall makes money off the photos Santa takes with kids. And a lot of mall Santas either get a bonus or a cut of the photos fees if they see a certain number of kids each day. That's one of the reasons children only get about 30 seconds each.