The Weird, Wonderful World of Professional Santas

Happy Holidays from Faster Horses! I hope you enjoy our latest report about the weird, wonderful world of professional Santas.

When I turned my mind to the holiday greeting for the first time in the young history of Faster Horses, I knew it was something that I wanted to reflect the beauty and weirdness of humans in the real world, rather than the middle midness of the market research industrial complex and artificial intelligence. 

So here we are.

I’ve been curious about the people behind the beard since my partner shared a story with me about the Santa she worked with last season. She’s an actor, and works as one of Santa's elves to make extra cash around this time of year.

As I’m sure any parent reading this can attest, it’s common for young kids to be shy around Santa. So, at one of Santa’s Vancouver locations, the elves will sometimes offer to “go first,” showing little ones that the man in the red suit isn’t so scary.

Whenever Santa would ask my elf partner what she wanted for Christmas, she’d would answer nail polish.

Lo and behold, at the end of that Santa season, he gifted her some nail polish.

The story stuck with me.

It’s just nail polish. But also, who is this kind stranger, in Canada’s most expensive city, who is going out of their way and spending their own money to spread some holiday cheer?

I hope this little report brings some joy to your day. Because meeting the beautiful souls who are featured within it definitely brightened some of mine.

Whether we’ve worked together this year, or you’ve just been on the receiving end of my very enthusiastic and persistent emails, I hope you’re able to enjoy the holiday season doing whatever it is that recharges your battery, or fills your cup.

See you in 2026.