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Pandemic professional Santa shortage leads to busy season for B.C.’s ‘Santa Bob’


Rob Thompson

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Pandemic professional Santa shortage leads to busy season for B.C.’s ‘Santa Bob’

Source - Global News

By - Elizabeth McSheffery

Date - 29-11-2021

As COVID-19 continues to restrict some holiday gatherings, a professional Santa Claus in British Columbia says he’s never been busier.
The pandemic has created a shortage of Santas, said ‘Santa Bob’ Cristofoli, who has been dressing up as Jolly Old St. Nicholas at malls, private and public events since his retirement in 2018.

GLOBALNEWS.CA

The pandemic has created a shortage of professional Santas that's keeping one Kris Kringle in British Columbia very busy this holiday season.

His calendar is fully booked from now until Christmas Eve with multiple bookings on several days.

“In fact, tomorrow I have a Zoom event with a child from the U.K.,” said Cristofoli.

“It’s the first time I’ve done an international Santa event and it tells me there is definitely a shortage of Santa helpers.”

Cristofoli works for a service called HireaSanta.ca, which has offices in B.C., Ontario and Alberta.

Rozmin Watson, the company’s ‘North Pole operations manager,’ said she’s had to cancel nearly 289 bookings this season.

“We’re just telling them that we don’t have availability, or we’re fully booked.”
More requests for Santas came in this year than last year, Watson added, likely due to the widespread availability of vaccines.

 

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Very similar situation as in the UK this season.

Is this another ClausNet member ? :) 

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  • 2 weeks later...

The US is also having a Santa shortage, but i think it is more that people are able finally to get out and feel a little more sociable. This might be my busiest year ever. I have calls up to the night time hours of Christmas Eve and I am still getting calls.

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