Santa took a job driving a truck.  He still gets to travel and the job is steady if not always appreciated work.  All kidding aside, finding a Santa Claus for parties or shops this year is a challenge.  Everything else appears to be short when it comes to staffing, and in Idaho, the jobless rate is again below three percent.  You may need to pay a premium for your guy!

Being a Santa isn’t easy.  Some kids break into tears.  Others may let loose water from somewhere else.  Then there are the wise guys who want to give the old fellow grief.

Santa is More Than a Little Busy

A story from the Washington Post outlines there are several factors at work here.  First, the labor shortage.  Also, during the lockdown era, there were very few new Kringles being trained and many of the older folks who did the work in the past have themselves passed.

Being Santa requires good people skills.  It requires patience and an ability to deal with a myriad of personalities.  I graduated from Santa school in the late 1990s but can’t remember if I saved the certificate.  It could be buried somewhere in a box.  I attended the program as I was doing a story on the subject for a TV station at which I worked at the time.  I learned that Santa Claus doesn’t give off boisterous “Ho-ho-ho’s”.  Instead, he’s calm and gentle so as not to frighten the kids.  He doesn’t overpromise but will listen to all requests.

Help is Hard to Find

This isn’t the first time the old elf is in short supply.  When I was a teenager a new mall opened near home and the guy they hired to greet the little ones before Christmas had some issues.  My brother and I saw him one day on break smoking a joint in the parking lot!  We can do better.

By the way, the writer at the Post explains a good Santa is hauling down big bucks this year.  Maybe I need to find my diploma!

One last thing, click here for a good laugh about Santa.

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