{"id":126270,"date":"2020-12-04T00:39:37","date_gmt":"2020-12-03T21:39:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/whoa-virus-keeping-most-santas-at-a-distance\/"},"modified":"2020-12-04T00:39:37","modified_gmt":"2020-12-03T21:39:37","slug":"whoa-virus-keeping-most-santas-at-a-distance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/whoa-virus-keeping-most-santas-at-a-distance\/","title":{"rendered":"#Whoa! Virus keeping most Santas at a distance"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Whoa! Virus keeping most Santas at a distance<\/strong>”
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MIAMI \u2014 Brad Six becomes Santa Claus, pulling his black boots over his red pants in the office of a Miami outdoor supply company. It\u2019s hot, so he forgoes the traditional heavy jacket for a lightweight vest and grabs his Santa hat.<\/p>\n

But before sliding it on, the gray-bearded 61-year-old dons a plastic face shield and then takes his chair positioned behind a plexiglass sheet.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting paid is nice, but to get your battery recharged and to really get something lasting out of it requires interacting with the kids \u2014 you don\u2019t get a lot of that this year,\u201d said Six, who first portrayed Santa 35 years ago.<\/p>\n

This is Santa Claus in the Coronavirus Age, where visits are conducted with layers of protection or online. Putting hundreds of kids daily onto Santa\u2019s lap to talk into his face \u2014 that\u2019s not happ<\/a>ening for most. The physical attributes that make the perfect Santa align perfectly with those that make COVID-19 especially deadly.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of us tick all the boxes: We are old, we are overweight, we have diabetes and if we don\u2019t have diabetes, we have heart disease,\u201d said Stephen Arnold, the president of IBRBS, an association formerly known as the International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas.<\/p>\n

That has spurred creativity in Santa\u2019s workshops. Santas conducting in-person visits are using some combination of masks, the outdoors, barriers and distance for safety. Others are doing virtual visits, where children chat with Santa online for prices typically ranging from $20 to $100, depending on the length and extras, such as whether customers want a recording. Some Santas are taking the season off.<\/p>\n

\u201cSanta safety is our No. 1 concern\u201d and negotiated into every contract, said Mitch Allen, president of HireSanta, one of the nation\u2019s largest agencies. He said the pandemic initially dried up his business, but it bounced back, especially online.<\/p>\n

The average Santa makes $5,000 to $10,000 during a normal season, Allen said. That\u2019s a welcome bonus for men often retired on a fixed income, but many Santas say revenue is down as corporate parties and other lucrative gigs evaporated.<\/p>\n

Jac Grimes, a Santa in Greensboro, North Carolina, gave up home visits, about a third of his business. He did it not just for his own health, but to prevent becoming a superspreader, fearing he\u2019d pass the virus from one family to the next.<\/p>\n

At a farmers market he annually works, Grimes and his wife dress up as Santa and Mrs. Claus and sit in a parking lot where they to talk to people who remain inside their cars. Some homeowners associations are moving their annual Santa-visitation parties outdoors; Grimes will arrive in his red convertible to greet the crowds from afar.<\/p>\n

One of the hardest adjustments Santas have made is wearing masks that hide their painstakingly grown beards.<\/p>\n

\u201cSanta performers are fairly vain people \u2014 if they are good,\u201d Grimes said.<\/p>\n

The virus has many Santas and parents turning to virtual visits, which are booked through each Santa\u2019s personal website or agencies like Allen\u2019s. That often has Santas turning to their children and others for help mastering the computer skills needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a challenge,\u201d said Christopher Saunders, a Santa performer in Tool, Texas, a small town near Dallas.<\/p>\n

But Saunders and others say virtual sessions are a good if imperfect substitute for in-person visits. Parents fill out questionnaires, allowing performers to personalize their patter, and a side benefit is that the sessions aren\u2019t rushed. Many Santa mall visits last no more than two minutes to keep the line moving.<\/p>\n

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