A fresh twist on St. Nick
Playing Santa Claus takes more than a hearty laugh and a substantial midsection, according to Kim Cooper.
Cooper would know. Her company, A Party in a Bag, has been one of the main furnishers of St. Nicks in the Spokane area for the past six years.
So what does it take to wear the red suit? Cooper puts prospective Santas through the wringer, including criminal and professional background checks.
“If I’m interviewing a Santa, I will usually put him through a 40-minute interview process,” she said. “You know, ‘What is your favorite reindeer?’ Basically, I’m looking for someone who really knows Santa and really loves and enjoys being around children.”
During the rest of the year, A Party in a Bag provides decorations, party favors and organized games and activities for children’s parties. The company also has a cast of entertainers, from princesses to gorillas to magicians.
Currently, Cooper has two Santa Clauses and one elf on staff to solicit Christmas wishes, pose for photos, deliver gifts and change the minds of young skeptics. Cooper will provide her coveted St. Nick services to about 10 clients this year, from corporations to families who hire Santas to deliver gifts to their children at home, at a rate of $140 an hour and $100 for a half-hour.
Cooper’s husband, Mike, is a motorcycle mechanic by day but occasionally moonlights as Santa for the company. He said the job’s not as easy as it looks.
“It’s a stage fright thing. … What if I say the wrong thing and some kid is going to remember that terrible Santa for the rest of their life?” he said. “It’s a lot of pressure.”
Michael Munter, a Spokane Transit Authority bus driver, has been a magician with A Party in a Bag for about the past six years and has played Santa Claus for the past four. He said being a magician for children’s parties has helped him learn how to evade tough questions from child skeptics.
“I’m pretty good at turning things around and being vague,” he said. “I guess I’d make a good politician.”
He added that the costume, which can take up to 45 minutes to put on, can sometimes create problems.
“I know how Santa rides around the North Pole in an open sleigh. That suit is warm,” he said.
Darlea Chatburn, a junior at Eastern Washington University, will serve as this year’s elf. The rest of the year she’s on staff as a clown and a princess, painting faces and making balloon sculptures at children’s parties. She said she hardly thinks of the gigs as work.
“Sometimes you get a job and you’re like, ‘Oh, I have to go to work today,’ ” she said. “With this, it’s like, ‘Oh, I get to do a party today,’ because you’re basically playing with kids.”
Ultimately, Mike Cooper said his Santa gigs are worth far more than the bit of money he makes.
“Sometimes you see kids that are a little less fortunate and you want to make them feel special,” he said. “I had a pretty tough childhood, so there’s times when doing this is a little therapeutic for me.”
Munter said he believes in the idea of Santa Claus.
“I believe in Santa Claus because he brings a lot of joy and happiness to Christmas,” he said. “Santa Claus represents joy and happiness and good will.”