Ho, no: Santa crisis looms

Forget your festive worries about finding a Turkey or getting the present the kids desperately want that is in short supply, for an even bigger crisis could be about to hit our shores – there may not be enough Santas to go around this Christmas!

Reports coming out of Britain, the US and Canada, and reaching the mince pie-strewn desks of Sorted, are all telling us the same thing: middle-aged, portly men with white beards, who are prepared to wear red clothing and belt out "ho, ho, ho" on cue, are proving hard to find.

It doesn't matter whether you are living in England, Wales, or across the pond; an alarming shortfall in men willing to take on the traditional seasonal role is causing nervousness in the retail sector.

SHORTAGE: there are more than 3,000 Santa vacancies globally offering up to £45 per hour.

"Demand has increased for Santas this year, as people seek to engineer a great end to the year for their children, but supply (men willing to play the role) seems to have dried up," commented a spokesperson for one of the UK's largest high street stores.

"We are doing all we can to find enough people to ensure we can meet the needs of our customers, but it is proving difficult."

Businesses are getting so desperate that some are offering £40 per hour – nearly three times the more usual Santa rate. And Indeed, the leading UK recruitment site, has recently been seeking 357 UK-based Father Christmas or 'elf helper' roles.

COVERING UP: Santas will be required to wear PPE, including masks and gloves, this year.

Globally, an estimated 3,000 Santa positions remain vacant, according to the firm HireSanta. To try and combat the looming crisis, it has launched a virtual service to bring Father Christmas into the homes of UK children.

Mitchell Allen, 'head elf' at HireSanta, said: "The demand is absolutely huge. We're up over 120% over pre-pandemic levels. and we have far fewer Santas [on our books]. More demand and less supply mean we are facing a Santa shortage this year."

In Canada, demand for Santas has grown 120% compared to pre-Covid years. And Canadian companies, like their British counterparts, are struggling to plug the gaps.

END OF THE ROAD: One Santa body said more than 400 members had called time on their work.

"A lot of Santas, because of Covid or other reasons, have decided not to do it this year, or have cut back their schedules drastically," said Michael Artigas, whose photographic studio uses Santas for a lot of its festive work."

The International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas (yes, we are not kidding, this organisation really does exist), has seen its number of active Santas plummet – losing 400 members, who for a variety of reasons, have hung up their present sacks and called it a day during the last two years. A further 50 members have died during the pandemic period.