By CultureBanx Team
- Roughly 3% percent of all professional Santa’s in the U.S. are African American
- Santa’s earn anywhere from $4K – $5K total for store and mall appearances
From small businesses to parades, company parties and department stores dressing up as jolly old Saint Nick to spread Christmas cheer is a lucrative business. Despite the fact that St. Nick is a fictional character, Black Santa’s across the country can command nearly $400 or more per hour for their services. As the Christmas holiday rolls around again Black Santa’s remain booked, busy and sometimes hard to find.
Why This Matters: Millennial audiences value spending money on experiences more than purchasing consumer goods, and photos with Santa during the holidays is big business. Mall Santa’s and their related seasonal winter wonderlands remain as some of the last few advantages that traditional stores have over e-commerce juggernauts like Amazon (AMZN +0.46%). The exact income that comes from the job isn’t extremely clear, though ZipRecruiter’s numbers as of November 29, 2024, put nationwide hourly earnings at $60.10.
However, Black Santa’s still remain difficult to come by because roughly 3% percent of all professional Santa’s in the U.S. are African American, according to Tim Connaghan, who runs the RealSantas.com. Santas can earn between $7,000 and $15,000 during the holidays, according to Fox Business, with the best of the bunch able to rake in $10,000 in just one night.
A shortage of Black Santa’s could be attributed to the high costs of getting into the business. Most professional Santa’s provide their own suits, which could cost upwards of $500. Additionally, there could be other qualifications like only having real bearded Santas for jobs, which may require beard bleaching for white whiskers and that can run several hundred dollars.
There’s also the cost of attending Santa school, a place like The Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School, which Cris Cringle’s have dubbed the “Harvard of Santa schools,” is $520. If they are able to check all of these boxes, top Santa’s can make between $4,000 to $5,000 for store and mall appearances, according to CNN.
Many people including entertainers have realized that the business of Black Santa is bigger than just taking memorable holiday pictures at the mall, as rapper 2 Chainz discovered. His ‘Dabbing Santa’ ugly Christmas sweaters, portraying Black Santa’s made $2.1 million in just 30 days when they were originally released.
Situational Awareness: Black Santa’s aren’t always expected or accepted. Some stores like Macy’s (M -2.72%) that have continued with their own “Santaland”, an attraction that started at the company’s national headquarters in 1980 in New York City, actually hides their Black Santa. You have to make a special request in order to take a picture with him. Perhaps a strategy that should be re-thought to draw in more customers and more dollars.
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