Not just any seasonal gig
Frankly, it's not the three basic categories that are most interesting about the paper, but the personal insights it provides from the people who choose to become professional Santas. While a few Santas may make six figures, most do not, and may even lose money as Santas; they do it out of pure love for it anyway. Professional Santas do not usually consider the role seasonal; many build their identity around it, whether they fit the stereotypical image of Kris Kringle or not. “My feeling is that if you're always Santa Claus, you have to live like Santa Claus and give up whoever you are,” said one of the subjects. “I just strive to become a better person.”
For example, they wear red and green all year round, or have a full white beard. One Santa Claus trained himself to say “Ho, ho, ho!” to make. his natural smile. Another has redecorated his house as 'Santa's house', complete with Christmas trees and Santa figures.
Sometimes it is seen as a role: for example, a gay professional Santa deliberately suppresses his sexual orientation when playing Santa Claus, complete with teaming up with a Mrs. Claus for public appearances. However, a female Santa named Lynx (professional Santas usually adopt pseudonyms) who is also a church leader likens the work to a divine calling: “I can connect with people and remind them that they are loved,” she said. (She also ties her breasts when she's dressed up, because “Santa doesn't have double D's.”)
Perhaps that sense of a higher calling is why even non-prototypical Santas like Lynx endure the occasional rejection. One Black Santa recalled being denied a job at a big box store when the interviewer discovered his ethnicity and told him the store did not hire Black or Hispanic Santas. “That hurt my heart so much,” he said. A disabled Santa who uses a scooter during parades recalled being criticized for it by other professional Santas, but stuck with it.
And while Bad Santa (2003) may be fun holiday viewing, but real-life “bad Santas” who are caught smoking, drinking, cursing, or otherwise behaving inappropriately are not popular figures within their communities. “You're never gone,” said one subject. “You lose a little bit of your identity because you can't let your hair down and be yourself. You don't know who is watching you.”
“You are Santa Claus 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year,” said another Santa. “If you do anything, you risk destroying the magic.”
DOI: Academy of Management Journal, 2025. 10.5465/amj.2023.1161 (About DOIs).
