Tips for being Santa Claus

•Drink plenty of water – Wearing a Santa suit can get hot.  We also sell cooling vests to help keep you cool.




•Make sure you have a helper who can take care of the crowd and assist in your departure when you take a break. 




•Use your assistants to help make the event smoothly. For example, ask your helper to find out child's name, their teachers name, and one of the presents that they are getting.  When the child comes up, you already know a little about them, and you can make the experience more “real”.




•Talk to the child at eye level, this helps them connect with you.


•If they ask you “what’s my name?” Reply with something nonsensical like “Tenguin” or “Arwin”.  When they tell you that that’s not their name, say that you remember their name in “Elfish”. This way you can communicate with the elves about them.

 Saying "Oh I'm sorry, that's your name in "elfish" can work too.


•With younger children, let them do the talking and come to you. They can often be scared by a large Santa coming towards them.


•If a child is shy or asking tough questions, sometimes saying “Tell me what your family does for Christmas.  Do you have any traditions?” To get them involved or re-direct them

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•Be prepared with answers for the obvious questions, such as: What are the reindeer names? How do you get all the way around the world in just one night? There is a kid at school who told me you aren’t real… is that true? I am spending my Christmas at my Grandmas house, how will you find me? What do you feed the reindeers? How old are you? and How will you get to my house, we don’t have a chimney (Note: we sell “magic” keys).




•Never commit to what you are bringing them. You don’t want them to be disappointed.


•If a child gives you a list, make sure you get it to the parents later so they know what the child is asking for.


•When the child comes up to you say something upbeat such as “I really like your outfit, where did you get it?”, “Thank you for coming to see me!”, or “It’s so nice to see you”. Make sure you smile when saying this.  First impressions are important.


•Occasionally talk to the crowd. When you say something like “I’m glad you all came to see me today” can break up the monotony and help you reset for the next child.


•Be on your best behavior.  Santa is friendly, polite, and doesn’t say anything to offend anyone.




•Practice your “ho ho ho”. Don’t overdo it. You only need to do this a couple of times an hour. Doing this when you arrive or leave works well.


•Speak loudly and clearly enough for everone to understand you.  Santa can be boisterous and happy, so act this way when talking.


•Gestures such as waving someone over or high fiving the child go a long way. Be animated and upbeat.


•Take breaks if needed.  Santa can get tired and hot so he will need a short break to get a drink, go to the bathroom, and cool off.  This also allows Santa to break character for a few minutes and relax.


•Learn the words to “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”.  Engaging the crowd or children to sing it with you adds to the fun.


•Make sure you have breath mints.  You don’t want to hear “Santa, you have bad breath”.





•Use accessories to make the entire look more believable (glasses, bells, bags, boots instead of spats, helpers with elf hats, etc.).


•If you are very thin, consider getting a Santa belly (on our accessories page). Children expect Santa to a big personality.


•If a child is not interested in sitting on Santa’s lap, don’t push it.  A photograph of a child high fiving Santa is a great memory and looks great.


•If the child is in front of you, bend down so you can hear them and also to show interest in them.


•Don’t lay it on too thick. Children are smart and sometimes suspicious when they hit the age that they question if Santa is real.


•How to answer “How do you get around the world in one night?" Explain that there are 24 different time zones, giving Santa plenty of time to get across the globe.


•Find out what the currently popular toys are.  Don’t promise anything, but you do need to know what the name of the most popular character doll or toy is, so you look like you understand toys and presents.

•Practice your facial expressions in the mirror so that you can convey emotions such as surprise or glee without saying too much.


•Be enthusiastic, exciting, and energetic.  Children pick up on your mood and nothing is worse than a tired grumpy Santa.


•Props like bells or magic keys (that open the door if they don’t have a chimney) add to the realism.


•Sleigh bells or jingle bells are a great way to get everyone’s attention when you enter the room.




•Don’t be late. Nothing ruins the experience more than anxious children.


•Make sure you have something to give them.  This can be as simple as a form letter for them to mail you their list. Stickers work well too and are inexpensive. We offer some nice stickers that say “Believe” in our “Props & giveaways” section.


•Never break character, even when talking with an adult at the event.


•Make sure you tidy your outfit before an appearance. Straighten your belt, adjust the collar, and remove any fluff from your suit.  A sticky lint roller helps here.


•If you are wearing a beard, make sure you store it properly on a wig head and take care to make sure it is styled / brushed / hairspray in place before you put it on. Santa doesn’t want to pull out his beard to go out, and realize it is disheveled from being stuffed in a drawer.


•One of the most important things to do if you wear a beard, is to properly style it in order to make it look realistic. We offer some beards that have separate mustaches which allows Santa to look more convincing when speaking and making expressions.


•Make sure your beard is secure. Style the beard properly before the event. Don’t let the children pull your beard.


•Come up with some fun stories to tell the children. Santa Claus, Christmas, snowman, or reindeer jokes work well too.  You can find lots of kid friendly “dad jokes” online.


•When it is time to leave, make sure you enlist a parent or helper to distract the children while you make your getaway. One good way to do this is have a parent say, “let’s go out back and see if we can see Santa’s sleigh and reindeer on the roof”.  While they are out there, you can head out the front door.



•Make sure you do things like whitening your eyebrows. Details count.


•Have FUN!! Santa is jolly character.


How to answer "Santa, you aren't real!"

•”Get the child to open up by asking “What does Santa and the spirit of Christmas mean to you?” or "You know, the real magic of Santa is the spirit of giving, and we can all be a part of that".


•Sometimes letting a child know "I like to help spread the joy of Christmas, please don't spoil the fun for the other children" can work.


•You can also say “Now, you're Santa too! Remember how magical it felt when you believed Santa was real? Now we need your help keeping that alive for other children. Can you help me with that?”.


•When a child asks if you are the real Santa, you can respond by saying something like, "Well, I'm not the Santa who lives at the North Pole, but I do love spreading Christmas cheer just like he does!" or "No, but I'm helping Santa by making sure everyone gets a special gift this year".






•If a child tells you that you aren’t the real Santa, quietly whisper in their ear something along the lines of  “What do you like about Santa the most?”, “Did you know that Santa asks some of us to be helpers right now, since he is so busy getting toys ready in his workshop?".