Anyone walking through the parking lot at the Barbara C. Harris Camp & Conference Center in Greenfield a few weeks ago might have noticed something strange: dozens of vehicles adorned with Christmas-themed stickers, decorations, lights, and even custom license plates such as “SANTA” and “MSCLAUS.”
It was the 11th annual Santa Camp, which ran at the end of August, organized by the New England Santa Society. It drew 87 professional “Santas” from all over New England, and from across the country. Not just Santas, but people who portray “Mrs. Claus,” elves, and other holiday figures.
“We’ve been coming here for 11 years, and it’s just been fantastic,” said Chip Adams, vice president of the Santa Society and co-chair of Santa Camp.
Adams himself has attended nine Santa Camps.
You have no choice but to smile when you see an entire classroom of solidly built, white-bearded older gentlemen learning how to build an authentic Santa suit. But being a Santa is a serious responsibility.
The entry-level class, “Introduction to the Sleigh,” prepares Santas, Mrs. Clauses, elves, and other holiday performers for the tricky details involved in being Santa or one of his helpers.
“When you’re first starting out as a Santa, you don’t think about all these things. You’re only thinking about the happy stuff,” said Santa Camp staff member Roger Lambert. “But what if somebody comes up to you and says, ‘I want my dad back?’ The first thing is, you ask, ‘ Why is Dad away?’ Because how you answer will depend on what they say. Maybe Dad is away for a few days, or maybe he has passed on.”
Lambert says many children visiting Santa have the same wish: All they want for Christmas is for their parents to get back together.
“Then we say something like, ‘Santa can’t do that, but he does know that a lot of other children want the same thing, and he knows a lot of other children feel the same way,'” Lambert said. “These are the things that can really take you by surprise, so you need to be prepared.”
According to Adams, the Santa Society and then the Santa Camp started when a group of professional Santas began to get together for casual dinners.
“They realized they were really learning from each other, and it went from there,” Adams said. “What we teach is constantly being refined; we’re constantly adding more. There is always something fresh.”
This year’s Santa Camp had 32 first-time campers taking “Introduction to the Sleigh.” After the introductory class, participants can take four more tracks, including performance and marketing.
According to Adams, being a professional Santa or Mrs. Claus can be lucrative as well as deeply rewarding.
“You can just do charity appearances, but there are also many places that will pay good money for a high-quality Santa,” Adams said. “People may not realize how much goes into it; it’s a serious responsibility. You have to be Santa. Your outfit has to look authentic. If you have the fake belt with the buckle stamped on, kids are going to notice. You have to have decent boots. Kids notice the boots.”
Adams says he had never considered working as a Santa Claus until a little girl started following him, awestruck, in a toy store. He had the beard by then.
“Oh, she thinks you’re Santa,” the little girl’s dad told Adams.
Soon after that, Adams was working in the reindeer enclosure at Southwick’s Zoo in southeastern Massachusetts when several small children started squealing with excitement, telling their dad, “Santa’s here!”
“The dad said, ‘No, Santa’s not here,;” Adams said. “And then he looked over at me and said, ‘Or…is he?’ And I started to think, huh.”
The New England Santa Society has about 260 members from many walks of life.
“There is a lot of need for bilingual Santas. If you’re bilingual, that is very valuable,” Lambert said. “There are a few Santas here who are very fluent in American Sign Language, and that comes in very useful. We’re developing a workshop about interacting with children with autism, because you might do things a little bit differently if a child has sensory issues.”
The camp also includes “Mrs. Claus” classes. According to Lambert, Mrs. Claus and the
“elves” are an increasingly important part of visits to Santa.
“Some parents, all through November and December, they keep telling the kids, ‘You better be good, or Santa will know.’ So by the time they come to see Santa, they’re terrified of Santa, and that’s where Mrs. Claus comes in,” Lambert said. “Her role is huge, especially now. I’ve had kids who won’t even talk to me, but they’ll always talk to Mrs. Claus. Mrs. Claus is everybody’s grandma. The women who play Mrs. Claus are absolutely amazing.”
“Mrs. Claus does everything we do, except beard care,” he added. “The elves are important too. No one ever says, ‘You better be good, or the elves will find out.’ No one is ever afraid of the elves.”
“Mrs. Claus” Colleen Roche has been coming to Santa Camp for eight years.
“We can either support Santa, or we can work solo,” Roche said. “We have elves, we have ‘Rudolph ‘mascots, we even have people who play Krampus.”
During the rest of the year, the Santa Society hosts monthly “Santa Suppers” for professional Santas and other performers throughout New England to share ideas, network, and stay on top of trends in the Santa market.
“This course doesn’t just end on Sunday,” Adams said. “Every new Santa leaves here with a mentor, so they have someone they can reach out to throughout the year. Having a mentor is really important.”
Adams said coming to Santa Camp is a highlight of the year for Santas.
“When we get around the bonfire, the stories start to flow. It really is about laughing, having a good time, and being ready for the season,” Adams said. “It is a kind of magic.”
