Serious Santa Shortageby Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger 07 Dec 2007 08:33 AM It may be the one place on the planet (besides the North Pole) where you would never think a crisis of this proportion would arise. Anchorage, Alaska is in jeopardy of having a very un-merry Christmas. For a city where reindeer almost outnumber two-legged residents its degree of jolliness is surprisingly low. Anchorage is sending out an S.O.S. The city is in desperate need of a Santa Claus. Preferably one that doesn't mind hanging out at the local mall and ho-ho-ho-ing alongside screaming kids. It may sound funny, but the predicament is no joke. City leaders say there is a serious Santa shortage in Anchorage. Case in point: the Santa sitting in Anchorage's mall came all the way from New Mexico. Mall managers say they aren't sure why there are so few Santa wannabes looking to fill out the traditional red suit this year. One city official claimed it's because of the background checks done on potential hires. Then again, it could be the seven-days-a-week requirement mall managers require of each Santa. This year Anchorage's mall had to hire a Santa from Gallup, New Mexico. Which is not to say the city is filled with male resident who are against filling Santa's black boots. Mall managers say there are a handful of local prospects, but they don't come cheap--the going rate ranges from $40 to $60 an hour. Interestingly, back in 2002, The Wall Street Journal reported that a seven-days-a-week Santa can make $30,000 in a single Thanksgiving-to-Christmas season, while Santas working corporate parties can rake in $500 an hour. If your local mall is only offering an appointment-only Santa you now know why. Santa's astronomical booking fee is the main reason some malls are offering visits and photos with Kris Kringle on a limited basis. My young daughter is deathly afraid of Santa. She wants nothing to do with him. Santa sits in our local mall 8 hours a day, seven days a week and hands out free candy to anyone who will sit next to him. Even the offer of free treats hasn't persuaded my daughter to loosen her view on the jolly guy. Maybe we should move to Anchorage. Related Articles: Holiday Scrooges: No Santa For Kindergarteners And Problems For Pancake Lovers "Santa" Gets Booted From Disney World Learn more about Michele Cheplic  Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Relevantpopular culture tags User Comments  mcmama (51978) 07 Dec 2007 10:17 AMThe people in the mall are not the real santa. Just his helpers. The real Santa just did a breakfast with Santa in Montvale NJ last week. Everyone has a nice breakfast of donuts, bagels, coffee, cereal, juice, and they get candy canes too. And Santa walks around and jingles his bells and softly asks children if they are ready to come and sit with him and tell him what they want. Ho Ho Ho. Pictures are available. If you don't want to tell santa, thats ok. you can write him a letter. You can talk to him on the way out. And if mom buys a glossy 8x10 of Santa from the fundraiser lady for $10, instead of a picture, Santa will autograph it for the child - right in front of them - with SILVER ink. I have a feeling that in Anchorage, Santa is probably showing up a lot at fraternal organizations, neighborhood groups, chambers of commerce, and childrens organizations. Not as easy to find as the mall santa, but if you look hard enough, you will find him.  Michele Cheplic |
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