Finding Non-Holiday or Year-Round work

Santa Tips and Suggestions

FINDING ADDITIONAL NON-HOLIDAY WORK

– By Santa Tim Connaghan

Most Santas think about getting work for holiday season next November and December. But what if you are looking for some additional income now?

You will find there are a variety of ways to find some extra income on weekends and during the summer months. But it does take a special effort and sometimes it also needs a willingness not to be seen as a Santa.

There are quite a few professional entertainers, who actually started as magicians and party entertainers and eventually became Santas.

If you did not already know, you can often find work as another character. If you have some sort of additional talent, you can often become a party entertainer.

A few Santas actually worked this past Easter as, can you guess? Yes, they were Easter Bunnies. I do not envy them wearing those warm outfits, but because they know how to work with children, I can imagine they were the perfect choice for those operations.

There are also many Santas who work as magicians, pirates, wizards and other characters. For those who sport a real beard, the pirate and wizard characters are quite popular right now.

I have even done some parties as Dumbledore. I only had to look like Dumbledore and there was no requirement to do any magic. Some Santas have appeared at book stores in the same way.

Two Santas that I know of, appear as the King at Medieval Times in Orlando, Florida and Buena Park, California. A few others actually work at the renaissance faires.

If you desire to work in any of these areas, and have some theater or other talent, you might be able to sign on with one or more party entertainment companies.

Another way to find additional work is to promote yourself as a “Summer Santa.” My company has been supplying Santas for county fairs and other summer events for the past few years. It has been so good that I actually have a web site, www.summer-santa.com

There are Santas working at Santa Claus, Indiana; the North Pole, NY and other holiday themed parks. But don’t go calling for work there, as all of the positions were filled months ago and most of the Santas have been there for years.

Quite a few Santas have contacted their local county fairs, chambers of commerce, water parks and other summer festivals and venues, offering their services. And many have been able to find some added income or arrange a trade for admissions or other services.

One Santa working a fair, two years ago, told me he did it in exchange for free admissions which he gave to friends and some under privileged children. But, while doing the fair, he got to know one of the fair’s major sponsors, who owned a few auto dealerships. Guess who ended up getting paid to be Santa in that dealer's television commercials.

Other Santas have gotten work at theme attractions as prospectors and western characters. If you have read Ed Butchart’s second ‘Red Suit Diary,’ you will see him tell about his work as an old rail road engineer. It was just walking around the theme park and adding some ‘character’ and realism to the attractions.

Jobs like the ones above will not just drop in your lap. You have to go look for them. You must be pro-active in searching for additional work.

Again, I hope this month’s information will help some of you in your efforts to find some other avenues of working or volunteering during the weekends and summer months.

Remember, that you can also post all kinds of questions on one or more of the various chat groups and many of your fellow Santas will be glad to give you advice, answers and opinions on whatever you ask.

Good Luck.
Santa Tim Connaghan
Santa@santahollywood.com