'Twas the weeks before Christmas, and all through town, no one was in more demand than Santa.
"I get calls everyday, it is difficult, a lot of people are looking for Santas," Santa said while working Tuesday at the Bass Pro Shops in Foxboro, Massachusetts.
Those in the know, you know, the ones with white beards and red robes, tell us last year was crazy busy. This year, even more so.
"I started booking in August, and I am probably almost packed," said Brian Marvel, AKA Santa. "I am turning away more business that I can put in my schedule, that is how full I am."
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These Santas say they expected last year's business, as the world returned to more in-person holiday celebrations. They even recruited some helpers this year, but even that hasn't kept up with demand.
"It is nuts, the demand is off the roof," said Dan Greenleaf, head elf at ImSanta.org, a New England Santa booking company. "It used to be you could wait until the middle of November and book Santas, and now they are hearing 'I am not available.' The demand has just sky-rocketed, we actually have a lot of Santas, and people have come in, but we are getting more and more companies, organizations, and they are actually doing longer events."
"The demand is literally through the roof. We are up 30% over last year, and 120% increase over pre-pandemic levels," said Mitch Allen, head elf at HireSanta. "One of the crazier things we are seeing, people are already booking for 2023."
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Prime weekends are booked. Weeknights are mostly booked, too. Weekdays are even pretty full, as Santa says he has never seen so much corporate interest. There have been a lot of inquiries about diverse Santas, too.
Despite all the demand, Santa says all these worries about demand vanish on Christmas Eve, and Santa will be making all the stops this year.
