COVID caused the death of 10 % of Christmas performers, one professional Santa estimates.
There is a a nationwide Santa shortage this year following a difficult two years for professional Christmas performers.
The sudden lack of talent may seem surprising but is not to people in that industry, who say COVID-19 is to blame after claiming the lives of many in the community.
Professional Santa Rober Seutter tells Inside Edition that he believes approximately 10% of the professional Christmas performers in the U.S. have lost their lives.
"Our demographic, Christmas performers, we tend to be older, we tend to be heavier, so COVID hit us really hard," Robert Seutter explains. "I figure we have a working community of about 10,000 Christmas performers nationwide, and my guess if we lost about a thousand."
Mitch Allen, the founder of Hire Santa, tells Inside Edition that the events of the past few years have also resulted in some Christmas performers opting to stay home this holiday season.
"Last year people were asking about Santa's safety, about COVID protocols. This year, no one's asking about it," Allen tells Inside Edition. "They're wanting to sit on Santa's knee and get that picture."
And while there is nothing wrong with wanting a picture with Kris Kringle, there are plenty of ways to respect and impress the man who will be bringing you presents in just two weeks time.
So before you head to see St. Nick, remember to wear a mask or tell Santa that in addition to not being naughty you have also not had any fever or chills, muscle aches, or shortness of breath in the past 10 days.
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