The secret life of Santa Claus in the UAE

When we log into Google Meet, Santa Claus is ready for us with a smile. The professional ‘man in red’, Stephen Hicks has chosen to join our conversation dressed as the iconic figure, staying true to his personal mission of spreading as much joy and happiness as possible during the festive season.

Hicks has been delighting adults and kids alike for about 15 years as Santa at private and public events. He has attended around 1,000 events, though this could easily be a conservative estimate. “The events that I do range from home visits and meeting families on a very personal level to corporate events where there’s a big crowd. So, I say a 1,000 but it’s probably 3,000,” he says.

Tricks of the trade

Such professionals spend a lot of time, energy and effort in creating the perfect Santa persona at events. Many of them invest in high-quality, authentic costumes that include a good quality suit, traditional white gloves, props and a nice pair of boots, says Hicks. “Some even grow and maintain real beards year-round to enhance the authenticity.” Hicks begins to grow out his beard around June. “I maintain and shape it. You even, to a point, have to colour it to make it look authentic.” To the untrained eye, Hicks’s beard in its current form looks perfect — it's reminiscent of the Santa of our childhood storybooks — but he plans to make it 'glossier and whiter' for future events.

Adrian Hurley, who has appeared as Santa at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, Expo 2020 and Expo City, Dubai Airport and even a movie, uses hairspray to keep his facial hair uniformly white. He has also found a way to work around Dubai’s hot and arid weather. “The traditional Santa suit is far too hot to wear constantly so I got a new one designed, which has a waistcoat, a fluffy white shirt, and a coat,” he explains. “So when I sit down, I take off the coat and it’s a lot freer and cooler even though it’s hot.”

“I love what I do,” adds Hurley, who also works as a magician full-time. “It’s exciting to see the kids’ faces light up.”

There are other little-known behind-the-scene details. As Santa, Hurley adopts a baritone voice, even though it can sometimes strain his vocal cords. And Hicks has several pairs of Santa glasses, which are real reading glasses, so that he can read stories to children. He also tries to change his Santa gloves often while greeting huge crowds to try and ensure that he doesn’t catch a bug. “I try to take some vitamin C and keep myself feeling strong. That’s it,” he smiles.

Some professionals, he adds, even attend workshops or seminars to “enhance their storytelling, crowd engagement and improvisation skills”.

Actor-model Hashem Kadoura has been spreading joy as Santa at events for about eight years. “I love interacting with kids and watching their faces glow as they click pics, touch my beard, and hug me,” says the Palestinian who was born in Lebanon.

Unusual requests

The Santa of our childhood dreams (and parents’ elaborate tales) travelled on a sleigh pulled by reindeer. But reality is stranger than fiction and these real-life Santas have found themselves in unexpected situations.

Hicks’s first event as Santa Claus was at a resort in Dubai, where the organiser requested that he meet the guests from the back of a camel. And he did, while holding on to the animal for dear life. “But after I finished and engaged with everybody, I kind of got bitten by the bug. The people loved it.”

Meet-and-greets are simple affairs while photoshoots can be a bit unpredictable. Around two years ago, Hicks was asked by the owner of a restaurant whether he could drive a swanky Mustang at the event. Standing in his elaborate Santa costume, he wasn’t exactly dressed for the occasion. “It sounds easy but when you jump into a high-performance Mustang and drive it around in front of a lot of people, you get very nervous as one mistake could damage it.” But the event went without a hitch, he says. “We took some fabulous shots.”

Challenges of the job

Weeks before Christmas, these professionals manage schedules that are packed with events where they have to cheerfully engage with people for hours. And while the job brings a great deal of satisfaction and fulfilment, it can also be mentally and physically exhausting. For starters, their cheekbones ache from having to smile non-stop. After all, its not like working in an office where you can ride out the tough days by hiding in your cubicle.

“People don’t realise how hard it is to be happy and jolly for its duration,” points out Hurley. “That’s the hardest part. People want the best for their child but they push, shove, and ask Santa for a lot more than what he has got the time for. So you can get a bit annoyed at the public, but Santa can’t show that or tell anyone off.” He has been at four-hour long events where the queues were so long that he couldn’t see where they ended. “To the public, it is one experience, so I get it.”

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