Ho, Ho, Oh, No! Demand for Santa at an all-time high
DAVIE - Old Saint Nick can't be in two places at once, so he enlists the help of his helpers every year. However, this year, demand for Santa is at an all-time high.
According to HireSanta.com, for every 1 Santa, there are 20 people that need him. For George Delmont, a South Florida Santa helper for 30 years, almost had to sit out because of a hip injury.
Just a few short months ago, Delmont was riddled with groin pain that forced him unable to walk for a couple of weeks." So, for two months it was excruciating," Delmont said.
In early October, he enlisted the help of Orthopedic Surgeon Roby Abraham at HCA Florida University Hospital. Delmont had one goal, to be ready to help out Santa during Christmas time.
The surgery was a success! Delmont was out of the hospital in 23 hours and within about a month he was back to normal.
"I try to have people on the walker and Santa was being naughty and didn't have his walker. He was walking without anything so that was a good sign off the bat and in four weeks we were like, you're good to go," said Surgeon Abraham.
However, across the country, making sure people know if they're on the naughty or nice list has been a challenge. The demand for Santa is 30% higher than 2021 and 125% higher than pre-pandemic levels according to HireSanta.Com.
"More people want to have a Santa that looks or speaks like they do. Whether that be a Black Santa, a Spanish-speaking Santa, a French-speaking Santa, we even have a deaf Santa," said Head Elf at HireSanta.com, Mitch Allen.
Allen confirms there are currently over 2,000 open jobs for Santa and his helpers across the country. For Delmont, making sure he was healed and ready to go to put smiles on people's faces was the priority.
"I'm getting a lot of calls now because I do it for free. I don't ever take money and I enjoy doing it. The smiles, like just being here, the kids are crazy," he said.
Not only is demand for Santa higher this year, but it came in early.
Santa South Florida says by August, he had a ton of events booked for December. The same can be said for Allen, he explains Santa is already being booked for December 2023.
