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Once the holiday season begins and New Yorkers are knee-deep in shopping bags, several versions of Santa Claus seem to suddenly appear.
Father Christmas is, after all, the human incarnation of the Most Wonderful Time of the Year—even for non-Christmas-celebrating Jews like myself.
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Given the importance of Santa within our cultural canon (the ones at Macy’s and the Plaza Hotel are considered by many to be New York superstars!), I spent years wondering about the Saint Nicholases who call our city home.
What does it really take to become a Santa Claus in New York? Is there a Kris Kringle program that people have to attend before claiming the title? Where do all the big jolly men get their fabulous costumes from? And what do New Yorkers ask them for every year?
To finally answer these questions, I spoke with Santa Tim—who took up residence at the iconic New York Marriott Marquis this year—and Santa Robert—who used to keep a post at Macy’s but instead opted for the Walker Hotel in Greenwich Village this year— about their paths to becoming the Big Man in New York.
Here is what I learned:
There are many different ways of becoming a Santa…
Santa Robert says that about eight years ago, Macy’s offered his wife, an avid shopper, a position at the retail store. Although she passed on the opportunity, she told him he should consider working for the company. “I went to Macy’s and I happen to have a beautiful white beard, so they asked me if I would be interested in being the house Santa,” he remembers. “I said ‘sure!’”
After a few years on the job, Santa Robert (“I’m as old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth,” he says when asked about his age”) decided to pivot from Macy’s (“The pandemic had a lot to do with it”) and now takes on “freelance” gigs all over town throughout the season, which usually kicks off at the beginning of November and runs through Christmas Eve.
For Santa Tim, who is now 75 years old, things worked a bit differently. “I have been Santa since 1969 in Vietnam, where I would use shaving cream as my beard,” he says. Upon his return from the war, he got a job at a department store and when Christmas rolled around, he was asked to put on the red suit to fill for another Santa.
The rest, as they say, is history.
“I threw my razor out almost 25 years ago and I’m blonde so my beard is very close to white,” Santa Tim explains. “I have to use a little bit of product to brighten things up but this Santa look is pretty much all me.”
…but all of them involve a job interview!
Santa wannabes may look the part, but they still have to pass a regular job interview to land gigs.
“We did a little improv act,” Santa Robert says about his interview with Macy’s. “We talked about interactions with people, mostly, and they asked what I’d do if a child was frightened, for example, or if someone insisted on extending their visit.”
Turns out, though, that Santas are always on call
Celebrities are just like the rest of us New Yorkers when it comes to transportation! Santa Robert was once riding on the subway and a fellow passenger nicely asked him if he’d record a message for his son. He, of course, agreed.
“I think the common denominator when it comes to Santa is love,” he says. “He is the type of character that doesn’t look for anything in return, and you know what? I get more back than I give out—it’s the truth.”
I think the common denominator when it comes to Santa is love.
Yes, Santas get paid
After all, Kris Kringle needs to purchase gifts for his own family.
Santa Tim reveals that each gig pays differently, mostly depending on what part of the country they take place in. They also range in scope: it could be meeting and greeting visitors at Lord & Taylor for several weeks or a one-off job at a corporate event. Private happenings are also popular.
“In New York, you can get $100 or even $250 an hour, but the city is expensive,” he says. “You have to account for transportation and parking, for example.”
There is a Santa school!
Although generally speaking, Jolly Old Saint Nicholases do not need to present a certificate of authenticity to book a job, there actually is such a thing as a Santa school and Santa Tim opened one himself!
At School4Santas, Tim and his staff teach would-be festive figures about the best way to approach unusual asks (“we remind kids that Santa’s magic involves toys specifically”), standard protocols around the little ones (“we invite the parent to put the child on our knee and we make sure hands are always visible in photos”) and adults (“we don’t say ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ anymore, we say hey folks!”).
Considering he teaches six to 10 classes of would-be Santas per year, Tim is clearly busy during the off-season as well!
Santa’s clothes are so expensive
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of becoming Kris Kringle is the iconic red suit. At first glance, all Santas may look exactly the same. Turns out, though, that there are variations to the uniform—and they’re all pretty expensive.
“I have five suits but I know of Santas who have had over 70!” says Santa Tim. “I used to have about 10 but, over the years, I tapered down a bit. I had three really nice red suits, two beautiful robes I wear and two made of a camouflage material.”
Santa Robert, on the other hand, is more of a traditionalist. “I have several different outfits but they’re all the same and every second gig, I do the things I need to do to keep them fresh,” he says. “I dry clean them, for example. I’m Santa Claus so I need to be fresh.”
I’m Santa Claus so I need to be fresh.
He also explains that certain retail shops, like Macy’s, actually offer their on-call Santa a patented outfit that is exclusively theirs.
For all other needs, plenty of Santas pay a visit to Adele’s of Hollywood, a professional costume company that boasts a pretty awesome roster of holiday outfits. How much does an average Santa suit cost? According to Adele’s website, over $500!