Is Santa Claus still coming to the mall for Christmas 2020? Here’s how the tradition is changing during COVID-19

Charisse Jones

| USA TODAY
Kids visit Santa with face masks, plastic shieldsDespite the pandemic, malls and retail stores are bringing Santa Claus back this year, but just don’t try to sit on his lap. (Nov. 16)This year, in many places, “ho ho ho” is a no-go, or at least with more reins on our little dears.A visit to the mall to sit on the jolly old elf’s lap may be yet another tradition knocked to the wayside or dramatically altered by COVID-19, as some stores cancel in-person visits, and St. Nick greets kids through plexiglass or while wearing a mask.  For the first time in 158 years, kids won’t be able to visit with Santa at Macy’s iconic flagship store in New York City, an experience so ingrained in American culture that there was even a movie about it – Miracle on 34th Street.And while that’s bad news for kids, it may be worse news for all those Santas who count on gigs at department stores and office Christmas bashes to earn extra cash – or, in some cases, a big chunk of their annual income.Target Black Friday 2020: Target releases Black Friday ad with deals on electronics, toys, more starting Sunday. What’s different amid COVID?’We are likely to be short’: Air fryers, toys may be harder to find in first holiday since COVID-19Mike Hadrych exchanged his jacket and tie for a red Santa suit more than a decade ago, after he retired and began to spend the early days of winter listening to kids’ wish lists.He’s made up to 70 appearances during a single year. Business was off to a slow start earlier in the fall, when he’d picked up just two bookings at a time when he would typically have had 20 to 30.Now, however, things are looking up.”I’m going to be better off than I thought I was going to be and I’m not as concerned,” said Hadrych, 73, who lives with his family in Canoga Park, California. He’s now booked another 25 in-person events and nearly a dozen visits via video. “I’m still not going to make what I made but … I’m ahead of where I thought I’d be at this point.’’A mall Santa with “a real beard, real belly, real laugh,” can make anywhere between $5,000 and $10,000 working through November and December, says Mitch Allen, founder of HireSanta.com, which taps a database of roughly 2,000 entertainers to place Santa Claus at events and venues worldwide.Santa Claus is coming to town but it might look different this yearSanta Claus is still coming to town, but face-to-face visits will look different due to COVID-19.For many Santa Claus entertainers who are retired and living on a fixed income, that extra cash is crucial. Other Santas work as storytellers or perform different characters for audiences year round. But those roles largely disappeared because of shutdowns caused by COVID-19, making this holiday season even more critical for them to make ends meet.  Hadrych is among those who have earned more than $10,000 playing St. Nick, typically starting in November and finishing up his rounds in early January.”It’s nothing to sneeze at,” he says of the money, adding that ticking off kids’ wish lists also allows him to tick off a few bills. “The income I make is enough to pay off our insurance …  and our property taxes. So it comes in handy.”A Christmas with no Santa? There are still malls, retailers, and party hosts, who want Santa to appear live.Allen initially thought in-person Santa bookings would be down as much as 40% this holiday season. But now that some retailers have mapped out safety protocols such as extending hours to reduce crowding, “in person visits have bounced back” Allen says. “We are … seeing a real desire to have the traditions of Christmas and Santa this year,” Allen says. The Simon Property Group has said that Santa will be appearing at its shopping centers.And Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s are implementing a range of safeguards to enable kids to meet with Santa, from a clear barrier called a “Magic Santa Shield” that separates St. Nick from his pint-sized visitors and is cleaned after each meeting, to winter-themed floor markers to make sure waiting families are safely distanced.All families have to have their temperature taken with a non-contact thermometer prior to entering stores’ Santa’s Wonderland.“This year has been incredibly difficult for so many kids and families,” Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris said in a statement. “With countless activities canceled and many families dealing with added stress, we feel it’s more important than ever to provide some free Christmas magic and help safely create cherished holiday memories.”Neiman Marcus shoppers can also get a glimpse of Santa when they use curbside pick up, as the jolly guy himself forgoes the chimney to bring packages to their cars. He will make his deliveries on Saturdays, from Black Friday until Christmas.Hadrych says that while some clients aren’t asking him to don protective gear, he plans to wear a mask or a shield for others. He also intends to take a COVID-19 test every week.“I’ve had a couple of clients ask me if I would do a COVID test before coming to see them and I told them I would,” he said, adding that while it’s mostly to reassure those who are hiring him, it’s “also a little bit for myself too.”Michael Howe has portrayed Santa Claus off and on for 27 years. But after retiring last June from his career as a middle school computer teacher, Howe, who lives in Reed City, Michigan, decided to become a professional Santa to continue being able to connect with children.“There’s a real sense of urgency,” Howe, 60, said. “This privilege of portraying Santa is more important this year than it has been in a long time for a lot of us, just because of the unrest within our country, and the challenges economically and socially.’’But many of those who say they would like to book Howe this season have hesitated as they try to determine the best way to proceed in the midst of the health crisis. While he had 30 in person visits last year, Howe’s had only two so far this holiday season and says four other bookings could be canceled. In a more typical year, Howe says he could make between $6,000 to $8,000.“It’s very meaningful to me because, even though I’m retired as a public school teacher, I’m not drawing Social Security yet,” he says. “The income is very needed.’’Howe says he has his own concerns about the coronavirus’s possible spread. “I want to do personal visits,” he says, “but I also want to make sure that I’m safe.”NORAD will track Santa over Christmas holidayNORAD’s tracking of Santa Claus, will still happen with a few tweaks.Virtual visits? Trading the mall for Zoom As a board member of the Michigan Association of Professional Santas, Howe met via Zoom with the men he calls his “brothers in red’’ every Friday starting in the summer to brainstorm how to keep the Christmas spirit alive amid COVID-19.  One Santa has created a mock mail room, Howe says, so kids can whisper their wishes through the post office window but still maintain a safe distance.  “We’ve talked about instead of wearing the typical white cotton gloves, we’d wear white leather gloves so we could sanitize our hands in between each visit,” Howe says. “Guidelines keep changing so we keep coming up with more creative ideas.’’Talk has also focused on virtual visits, enabling kids to talk to Santa through a computer screen. Macy’s says virtual visits with Santa will kick off Nov. 27 and continue through Christmas Eve, and Neiman Marcus will also begin offering video meet and greets starting the day after Thanksgiving. Sam’s Club members can set up a Zoom visit with Santa starting Nov. 23, through Dec. 20, and like several other retailers offering virtual meetings, it includes a free picture and video.Video platform VisitWithSanta.com meanwhile is “definitely seeing an uptick in interest … attributable in part to the unfortunate circumstances of the pandemic,” says Carla McAnulty, spokeswoman for the platform’s parent company, WelcomeSanta.com.And HireSanta has also seen a massive surge of interest in virtual visits. “We’ve done them in the past, but we’re really gearing up this year, and orders for them have been tremendous already,” says Allen, adding that many Santas have told him they don’t want to appear in person because age and underlying health issues make them more vulnerable to contracting the coronavirus. Jim Beidle, 61, says the one in-person appearance he’d booked at a house party has already canceled. For him, virtual is the way to go. “I am choosing not to do in-person visits unless there are some very strict protocols in place and this is primarily out of concern that I don’t want to become a vector,” says Beidle who lives in Arlington, Washington. “I’ll be doing Santa entirely virtually at this point… It is definitely going to be a lighter season this year for me.”Though he’s earned as much as $5,000 in a season playing Santa, Beidle says fewer gigs will not be a significant financial hardship. In addition to being an ordained minister, he’s also a professional storyteller and an information technology consultant. “It’s going to be a ding on my wallet this year, and it won’t be quite as much fun,” he says, “but … it’s not going to break me.”D. Sinclair, 56, who is also known as the “Real Black Santa,” says he was able to earn more than $40,000 last year, and he believes that he may equal that this holiday season as his business pivots to virtual visits.But “even though you can make a lot of money, the guys that …continue to do it, do it because they love what they do,’’ said Sinclair, who has been performing as Santa in and around Atlanta for nearly 20 years and has entertained the children of kids who once sat on his lap. “I like going to someone’s home … and watching the kids’ eyes light up. That’s what Santa Claus is about. It’s not about income.’’Follow Charisse Jones on Twitter @charissejones

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