The Psychology of Santa

Sit in a chair, smile and lots of "OH, OH, OH's." How difficult can that be?

Follow me on this journey into the 'Psychology of Santa', the dive into the psychology of being Santa at a location welcoming up to 1700 families a day.
The cost to the families would not be considered cheap by many people but the logistics of providing an experience worth the money has to be seen to be believed (especially when failure means being an item on the local news at least, the national news at worst). "We're depending on you to be the icing on the cake," the site manager told me. What we do elsewhere will depend on what the parents feel the Santa experience is worth." "It won't be easy." He continued. He was even more right than I ever thought possible.

Becoming Santa. It was one of those occasions when it wasn't 'what I knew' more 'who I knew' that mattered. A director I had worked with the year before had, apparently, recommended me to the event organiser. It was an event I didn't even have to think about. I was in.
I met the event manager at the site for a 'get together' and went on a tour of the site. I was pleased with the whole set up as we walked through marquees which had been transformed into real experiences, the magician and showman, the animals, the crafts and then the grotto, the final piece of the puzzle leading to the Santa experience. The snow, the polar bears, penguins and the elf huts. As I walked through it, myself, I could imagine the excited looks on the children's faces as they walked around the maze leading to the door where the Chief Elf would be busy organising each family into the queue for the 'available' Santa...
Team Santa.

It all starts with the elves. The young women whose job it is to make sure this final part of the jigsaw goes to plan and there is a plan, there has to be. You see, there are anywhere between two and ten Santa's on duty depending on the day and the number of people coming through (shhh don't tell the kids) So, ladies and gentlemen what is the psychology of being Santa?
Start the Day.
It's 8.45 am, as we walk through the flaps of the changing (room) tent. The winter wind ripping into the space around the tent made sure that even this first chapter of the experience was an adventure. The Santa team was together for the first time, struggling into our red trousers, black boot-covers, false-fat belly (if required), red Santa coat, wig, beard, glasses and, to finish, white gloves. The first obstacle is to get used to the false beard which has to be held in place, by tight elastic over the head (after a few hours it becomes very tight) and gets up your nose. The false hair has a life of its own once you have thrown it over your head. It becomes unmanageable, falling over your eyes, getting muggled up with your glasses and making it a challenge to top the costume off with the red hat.

Lift Off. We are assigned rooms to sit in and wait for that first knock on the door. Once again, the organisers had done a brilliant job on each of our rooms, decorated, a fake fire in the stove, a smell of cinnamon and a throne for Santa. The psychology begins.

You prepare the items for delivering the magic. You have a presentation prepared but it is fluid, it depends on the age of the children. You sit a little taller as you wait for the door to open and the performance to begin. Because it has to be a performance, not just a dialogue. And, most importantly, it has to be 3-5 minutes of magic.

Remember, the adults have paid a lot of money for their kids to be there and they want to be entertained as well. Come In! Come In! The performance begins with the welcome. Lots of waving hands and a big smile. You can tell straight away which children still believe and which ones have become sceptical.

The dreamers run straight to the seats in front of you. That's easier, and the more enjoyable because you can go deep into the fantasy of Rudolph, being asleep before I enter the house, leaving footsteps in the snow and being good, not naughty. The parents are usually bought into the story as well. The other two scenarios are very different.

Under 1 year old.
Almost without fail, these tots have been brought along to have the first photo with Santa for future reference. They take one look at the large character in a red suit, sitting on a big chair with long hair and beard...and they scream out and kick out which is our signal to get the elves in to get the picture done. Of course, that means that we have a little more time for other groups.

The over 10s
These children come in two groups: I don't believe any more but my younger brother/sister is here so I will play along. In this situation, I talk to the child about whether they have had a good year and if they have hopes for the year. The ones who are determined to spoil it, they just have to be given the Santa look.

The psychology of Santa is, I believe, to be in the part. To enjoy the act and performance by making sure the children leave the room still believing in the magic and the adults leave the room believing that they have had their money's worth. Santa is a tremendous role for an actor. But it is a role which, if done well, carries a lot of responsibility.