A professional Father Christmas felt “horrified” after a boy, aged six, handed over a $5 (£4.16) bribe in an attempt to get all of his presents, a report has claimed. The young boy appeared to have already concluded if he was on the naughty or nice list and hatched a last-minute plan to win over Santa Claus.
According to the Mirror, a professional Santa explained how he makes 50 to 70 appearances per year.
He said: “A boy was waiting patiently in line to meet me, and when it was his turn, he hopped right onto my lap.
“I asked him what he would like for Christmas – he mentioned a few of the more popular toys, and then handed me a letter.
“I receive a lot of letters in person – even kids get antsy trusting the USPS to deliver such an important piece of mail.”
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However, the six-year-old’s next move would leave the professional Santa Claus would then be left feeling “horrified” and “impressed”.
Responding to whether he had been good this year, the child pointed to his wish list and told Santa “not to worry about him”.
He then decided to return to his mother.
The professional Father Christmas added: “My curiosity was piqued, so I opened his letter.
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“In it was a list, and a note that said, ‘Dear Santa, thank you for bringing me everything on my list. Love, Anthony’, and a picture of Abe Lincoln.
“The kid bribed me with a $5 bill. I was horrified and quite impressed all at the same time. I can only imagine what he had done…”
The account by the professional Father Christmas comes at a time when there has been a shortage of Saint Nicholas’ stateside.
Mitch Allen, the founder and ‘Head Elf’ of event planning company Hire Santa, told ABC News: “People are wanting Santa more than ever before.”
He added: “There’s just absolutely huge demand coming out of Covid and there are just not enough Santa Claus entertainers.
“For every Santa that reaches out to us [for work] … there are 20 people reaching out to us for Santa events.”
Mr Allen claimed demand is up 30 percent compared to last year and up by 120 percent from pre-pandemic levels.
However, there are more than 2,200 open positions across the industry, including vacancies for Mrs Clause roles and elves.
