The secret life of Boise Santas
Happy December, friends! Today's story might be one of my favorites of all time. You are going to love it.
This summer I was on Instagram and came across a profile called @208santa. It was an immediate story idea; my head filled with questions. Who are Boise's Santas? How many are there? Do they know each other? What do they do the rest of the year? Where do they get their clothes? How did they become Santa? When the time came to write this story, I knew that Julie Sarasqueta would be the perfect person to do so. She did an amazing job. I hope you enjoy it!
You can listen to this story on our podcast. And if you want to spread the Christmas cheer, you can find a link to share this story here. Enjoy!
The secret life of Boise Santas
By Julie Sarasqueta
For a few hearty souls, the holiday season isn’t a time for hanging out with family and friends while lingering over spiked eggnog and leisurely meals. It’s a nonstop, all-out sprint that must be completed in layers of velvety clothes cinched with giant belt buckles. An epic race to put smiles on faces that lasts all the way until the final seconds of Christmas Eve.
These dedicated folks are professional Santas, and their world involves so much more than throwing on the gear and smiling until their cheeks hurt.
“There’s a lot that goes on behind the red suit, my dear,” says Santa Larry, one of the Treasure Valley’s best-known jolly old elves.
Santas don’t always plan on their new identity.
Santa Christopher, one of the most popular Santas in the Treasure Valley, never had any intention of working as a professional Santa. He was recruited by a veteran of the Christmas scene, Santa Vern, who was on the lookout for the next generation of Santas. More experienced Santas taught Santa Christopher how to bleach his beard for the season, and a new Santa emerged.
“My mom says I was born for this,” he says. “I was born on December 20, came home from the hospital on the 23rd, I played Baby Jesus on the 24th at the church’s play on Sunday morning.”
Santa Larry was also tapped for his beard: For years, he grew his facial hair out every September and shaved his face clean in the spring. One year, when he was an employee at Micron, the company was mired in a Santa crisis — their original pick for Santa didn’t work out, and they needed someone to fill in the very next evening. When an employee approached Santa Larry, he initially agreed because he thought playing Santa might give him gift ideas for his 13 grandchildren.
When he showed up the next evening, Micron folks bundled him into a costume, handed him a bottle of water, and asked, “Are you ready?”
“When they opened up the curtain and I saw the look on those first two children’s faces when they looked in and saw a real bearded Santa, it pretty much just melted my heart,” he says. “I had child after child come sit on my lap and tell me stories and what they wanted for Christmas. And I could hear some of their dreams. I was hooked.”
Luckily, there’s a school for Santas. Tons, actually.
Aspiring Santas can attend the Santa Claus Portrayal and Business Mastery program through the Worldwide Santa Claus Network, which dubs itself the “Stanford of Business Schools.” Or they might opt for the School4Santas, Best Santas’ Santa School, Northern Lights Santa Academy, the Charles M. Howard of Santa Schools (as the oldest in the United States, it’s known as the “Harvard of Santa Schools”), the Professional Santa School of Denver … you get the idea.
Idaho Santas are organized.
Many of Idaho’s Santas, along with reindeer trainers and Mrs. Clauses, are members of the International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas (IBRBS), which bills itself as the world’s largest organization of professional Santas, Mrs. Clauses, and associates.
“We consider ourselves Christmas ambassadors,” Santa Larry says.
There are 66 current members of the group in Idaho, with most of them concentrated in the Treasure Valley — but there are members in Coeur d’Alene, New Plymouth, Twin Falls, and Burley. They submit themselves to background checks and buy liability insurance for their Santa seasons.
If a particular Santa isn’t available for a gig, Santas will network to find a Santa who is available to create a Christmas atmosphere. “The Santa community likes to help,” Santa Christopher says. “They want to make sure everyone has a Santa and has a good experience.”
There is no standard Santa outfit.
Every Santa’s costume is determined by their own Santa origin story — are they closer to ancient St. Nick or the classic American Santa featured on Coca-Cola advertisements? Will he opt for a Victorian-style cape and tunic in maroon or cherry red velvet overalls? Whatever sartorial direction Santa chooses, he can have his custom made right here in the Gem State: Angie’s Originals in Idaho Falls specializes in creating looks for every member of Santa’s workshop.
But no matter where Santa purchases a quality suit, it ain’t cheap. “There’s a range from $400 to $5,000, $6,000, $10,000,” Santa Christopher says.
Their schedules are bonkers.
Both Santas take Christmas off to be with their own families, but they’re booked solid from early November until Dec. 24. Last year alone, Santa Larry talked with 10,875 visitors at The Village in Meridian. That’s as intense as it sounds.
“I pretty much have to give up my life as I know it,” Santa Larry says. “I don’t go to any parties. I don’t get to go shopping. I don’t get to attend birthdays or parties or any of those types of things during the 37 days of the season, because I dedicated my time and efforts to the community and to the Village at Meridian.”
Santa Christopher’s busy season starts even earlier, on Nov. 1. Not only has he served as the Santa at the Saint Alphonsus Festival of Trees, but he collaborates with local photographers for holiday photo shoots, works the room at corporate events, and makes home visits so kids can catch Santa in the act of being a jolly old elf (in Santa lingo, this type of visit is called “Catching Santa”). He stuffs the socks hanging on the mantel, places presents under the tree, and waits to be discovered.
“When I sit down to drink the milk and eat the cookies, I invite the kids over to do that with me,” he says. “The kids are rubbing their eyes and just can’t believe it.”
He can even deliver an elf to watch over children during the holiday season so they’re on their best behavior. “I’ll remind them that the elf likes to be read to at night, so I tell them to take a Christmas book to the elf and read it,” he says. “The elf might leave you a note to remind you to clean your bedroom or be nice to your mom and dad.”
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In the Santa world, there’s a distinction between those with real beards and those without.
“There is a difference in how people treat them,” Santa Christopher says of non-bearded Santas. But the lack of a snowy white beard doesn’t stop Santas who really love the gig.
“One of the biggest Santas in the country doesn’t have a real beard — he can’t grow one, actually,” he says. “But he does a lot of the big parades and flies around the country.”
And yes, those beards really do require special maintenance.
“I use wax and conditioner and different shampoos all the time,” Santa Christopher says. “My wife says I have way more hair products than she does.”
Santas go to conferences …
If you’d like to have the rather surreal experience of seeing a bevy of Santas, you might head to the biennial International Santas Celebration; the Santa Family Reunion in Gatlinburg, Tennessee; or even the World Santa Claus Congress in Copenhagen. Idaho’s IBRBS chapter gets together several times a year. In fact, that’s why Idaho Santas avoid sharing their last names — it was a group decision.
… and get special training.
Idaho Santas are encouraged to take classes, either online or in person, to help them interact with all the children they see. For example, a class offered by the Worldwide Santa Claus network, “Being Santa for Children With Special Needs,” helps Santas and Mrs. Clauses create experiences for children with autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, cancer, and more.
Being Santa can be heart-wrenching.
“I joined Santa’s America, which is a national nonprofit,” Santa Larry says. “We work with hospice organizations for children who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness who won’t make it to Christmas. We allow them to have one final Christmas as a family.”
But incredibly moving moments happen during standard visits, too. “We get a chance to see and hear the secrets children don't tell their parents, and we get to see those children who have recently lost their parents,” he says. “So we get to see the sad times. We get to see the children that say yeah, they wish their mom and daddy wouldn't fight so much. Or that they wish their daddy had a job. Or that they wish that their mommy wouldn’t drink so much or was home more, or (they are) without a home to stay in.”
He recalled a child who asked him to take a message to their mother. “So I’m sure she must be in the hospital or perhaps incarcerated or something,” Santa Larry says. “I said, ‘Oh, yes. I’d be happy to send a message to your mother. And where is your mother?’
The child told Santa Larry their mother was in heaven. (At this point in the story, Santa Larry took a moment to collect himself. And so did this writer).
But they do it out of love.
Santa Christopher was the Santa at the Boise Towne Square Mall just a few weeks after the 2021 shooting that left two people dead and several injured.
“There was nobody at the mall,” he says. “The security guards came by, and they said, ‘We needed you here. Let’s bring laughter back to this mall.”
Those kinds of missions fill up the heart, Santa Larry says.
“It’s striking to experience those moments that you can’t replace and you can’t make them up,” Santa Larry says. “Those are my gift to the community, to those 10,875 visitors who come through. I try to share a little compassion and love and the special, magical moments the holiday season seems to bring.”
If you’re interested in becoming a Santa or Mrs. Claus yourself, you can find Santa Larry’s contact information on the IBRBS website.
Thanks for reading!
With love from Boise,
Marissa
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From Boise
Every Tuesday, read a story about a person, place, piece of Boise history, or local happening. Every Thursday, get a huge list of things to do over the weekend. No news, no politics - just the fun stuff.