Shortage of Santas after holiday appearances resume without pandemic restrictions
By Kim Passoth
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LAS VEGAS, Nevada (KVVU) — What does Santa want for Christmas? More helpers. Kevin Peachy has been standing in for Santa in Las Vegas for 34 years. He’s never been busier than this season.
“Right now, I have 6 appearances scheduled on Christmas Eve,” Peachy told FOX5.
That’s after he leaves his job as Kris Kringle at Meadows Mall where you will find him every day until Christmas.
“The joy I get from being Santa, you can’t put a dollar amount on it,” Peachy argued.
During the pandemic, when Covid forced many Santas to go online to answer video calls, wear a face mask, and stay behind plexiglass, Peachy insisted on still interacting with children confident in his vaccinations.
“We lost a lot of Santas during the pandemic. Some retired because they couldn’t be good at what they wanted to do, others passed,” Peachy revealed.
Peachy is now taking as many private events as he can schedule to make sure everyone gets a chance to see Santa this holiday.
“My son always tells me that I need to charge more and whatnot; it is not about the money. I do as many charitable events as I can,” Peachy revealed.
Without pandemic restrictions this year, there are many more places for Santa, but unlike his boss at the North Pole, Peachy can’t be everywhere at once and hopes new Santas will step into his bell-covered boots.
“This isn’t like a career where a lot of people say ‘Hey, I want to do that!’ One in a thousand say they want to be Santa, so we are stretched kind of thin right now,” Peachy stated.
According to HireSanta.com, the demand has never been greater for Santa’s up 30% over last year. The company adds there has also been a huge increase in demand for Black Santas, Hispanic Santas, American Sign Language Santas, and Mrs. Clauses.
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