The Salary a Professional Santa Can Earn in One Holiday Season May Surprise You — But There's Still a Saint Nick Shortage This Year

The Christmas season and Santa Claus go hand-in-hand — when there's not a Kris Kringle shortage, that is.

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This year, the demand for Saint Nicholas is outpacing his availability, FOX59 reported. If you're hoping to book Father Christmas for a party or private event before December 25, it might already be too late.

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Mitch Allen, the founder and head elf at HireSanta.com, told the outlet that demand for Santas is up 30% year over year. "For every Santa that reaches out to us, there are 20 open positions that we have," he added.

By Allen's estimation, the U.S. has more than 2,250 available Santa roles, many of which opened up during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn't specifically track the employment and wages of professional Santas, anecdotal evidence points to a broad salary range — with the most successful Saint Nicks pulling in up to $20,000 in one holiday season, per CNBC.

Per Boston Magazine, the typical mall Santa might spend 54 days working (From November 1 to December 24) and see 60 kids every hour on a busy December day.

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So if you're hoping to book Santa for a weekend event, you might want to consider 2023.