September 17, 2006
Workshop helps Santas hone their ho-ho-hos
Los Angeles Times
SAN DIMAS, Calif. -- The sun was beating down and a hot Santa Ana wind was
on the verge of kicking up last weekend, but, as the organizer of a
workshop titled "The Business of Santa" pointed out to his largely
red-garbed, bearded audience, Christmas was a mere 100 days away.
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So, inside a small conference room at a freeway-close motel here, nearly
40 Santa Clauses, and a fair number of Mrs. Clauses, spent the day honing
their child-pleasing skills and brushing up on tips about marketing
themselves and coaxing real beards into a snowy white hue.
They eyeballed racks of red suits and ample black belts, swapped stories
and business cards and even picked up some considerable history of the
legendary, gift-bearing jolly man. At day's end, they were awarded
diplomas from the "International University of Santa Claus."
"Today is just the tip of the iceberg," workshop organizer Tim Connaghan
told audience members, who had paid $89 for the one-day conference and his
124-page book, "Behind the Red Suit."
"You can't become a Santa just because you're a big guy with a beard,"
said Connaghan, who has 38 years in the professional Santa business. "It
takes a lot more."
Web sites, how-to books, conventions and seminars abound, Connaghan said,
all signs of just how big -- and complicated, if not competitive -- being
a Santa has become.
Connaghan, who is the reigning Santa in the annual Hollywood Christmas
Parade and whose appearances run the gamut from the "Dr. Phil" TV show to
a roller-coaster opening at Knott's Berry Farm, said he conducted eight of
his own workshops across the U.S. last year. He recently participated in a
Santa Claus convention in Branson, Mo., that drew 300 of the red-suited
St. Nicks.
Connaghan's audience Saturday included seasoned Santas (several with 20 to
30 years or more of experience in bellowing "Ho! Ho! Ho!" and hearing
children's wish lists) as well as some just starting out. Fred Osther,
wearing the red pointed cap and blue coat favored by Santas in his native
Norway, topped the experience list with 52 years.
Gordon Bailey, Ontario, works as an entertainer year-round by swapping the
Santa persona, post-Christmas, for other characters -- a pirate, Merlin
the magician, Cupid and a children's storyteller named Father Grump. Santa
is his favorite, though, and he has been filling the role for the same
family every Christmas Eve for the past 22 years.
"The look of wonder in a child's face" makes the Santa experience special,
Bailey said. "It makes the magic real and keeps the tradition alive."
Ron Breach, Anaheim, started out nearly 30 years ago as a Santa in an
Orange County mall. He stopped when the mall converted to a discount
center, sans Claus, and concentrated on his promotional-products business.
About five years ago, he said, he was bitten by the Santa bug again and
works mainly private parties and corporate events.
"It's a labor of love," Breach said.
His biggest challenge now, he said, is keeping his naturally dark hair and
beard bleached a Santa-like white.
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