Every Christmas, up to 40 professionally-trained Santa Clauses graduate from the Ministry of Fun Santa School and are sent out to perform the role in around 700 shopping centres, department stores and private functions in London and beyond.
The Santa School is the longest running training school for substitute Father Christmases in Britain. Established in 1998 by the Ministry of Fun, an entertainment production company located near Elephant and Castle area in South London, it was founded by the actor and former elf James Lovell.
Lovell decided to set up the School after being asked to step in the role of Father Christmas at the very last minute to replace someone who had fallen ill. He quickly realised that the job required much more than a costume and a beard. While having the right look is important, says Lovell, not everyone is right to be Santa, and even enrolment at the School requires an audition and an interview.
Training is rigorous and covers all aspects of the part, including its history. Physical aspects such as the big belly, beard and costume can be faked, but the expression and voice must also be perfected. An extensive knowledge of all the things that children like is vital: from the names of the nine reindeer, to the latest toys, video games and music that could come up as requested gifts.
Fun is not just for Christmas, of course, and outside the festive season the Ministry is also very busy providing comedians, acrobats, human statues, contortionists, burlesque performers, face painters and more to entertain the UK.
A Magical Mega-Star
James Lovell is the founder and director of The Ministry of Fun Santa School in London. Each year, around 40 Father Christmases receive the training required to perform the role of Santa in shopping centres and department stores across the UK. We met with Lovell in London. He began by clarifying one very important point.
James Lovell: The real Santa does exist. We are only helping him out on those very rare occasions that he can’t be in two places at once.
STATURE
So what does it take to be Santa?
James Lovell: The character is important. The costume is important. The beards need to look good. Our costumes cost about a thousand pounds and our beards cost about 800 pounds. So we invest a lot of money into making Santa magical. Father Christmas goes to 840 million houses on Christmas Eve. He eats a lot of mince pies, so he does have a tummy. So we need to ensure that our actors have a tummy as well. So we have a lot of very good fake tummies. You need to have a great voice, that’s important, because Father Christmas is a great man, you know. He’s 2,000 years old. He’s very famous, probably one of the most famous people in the world. And being an international megastar, of course, Father Christmas needs to be able to speak in different languages.
DYNAMISM
And, Lovell says, filling the boots of such a dynamic elderly man can be gruelling.
James Lovell: The older guys with real beards are brilliant, but it is tough being Father Christmas, physically it is, some of the shifts are at least eight or ten hours long. (But) when people wear our costume and our beards, they look brilliant. The beards look like real beards. And if you are a good actor, or a good performer, or you have a magical quality about you, you will still be able to portray the role if you are younger.
ELOQUENCE
The ability to converse with different children is also vital to the role.
James Lovell: You need to be able to communicate and improvise. That’s very important because children are all very different, some come along and are very chatty, but if they are very shy or nervous, you really have to do a performance. As Father Christmas you know every child. So you never ask a child what their name is: you know! You might have forgotten. Likewise, don’t ask them what they want for Christmas: you know! If you ask them, that’s saying you haven’t read the letter!
DIPLOMACY
Then there is the tricky matter of the gifts that children ask for.
James Lovell: Often children ask for a pet. They might ask for a puppy or a kitten. You’ve got to be very careful there! Do not promise anything, is the standard rule. I’ve seen parents standing behind their children go white with terror as their child says they want something really expensive. But yes, we’ve been asked for horses, badgers... children have asked for funny things, quite often they ask for very simple things. The most difficult question is when a child might say: “I want mummy and daddy back together again.” Or if a child says, “I want to get better,” or “Can I have my little brother back out of hospital?” So you’ve just got to be very encouraging and say, “I’m sorry you’ve had troubles, but whatever Santa brings it will be something wonderful, brought with all the love in the world.”
AUTHENTICITY
But beyond the details and complexities of the role, there is one simple rule, says Lovell:
James Lovell: As long as you give a child a great experience, they’re happy. If you have a nice jolly conversation, make a child feel happy, and make them feel like they’re going to have a good Christmas, and make them feel like they’re loved, that’s all you need to do.