Modern Santa sleighs beyond the mall
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Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
Santa Claus is coming to town — and he's down with the digital age.
The big picture: The old Santa model consisted of a long line of tiny tots waiting for a camera, a chair and a photo op. The mall Santa still exists, but the modern Saint Nick also meets families where they are.
- Being Santa in 2025, says TikTok Santa sensation Corky Kinter, isn't as much about "being so stuck in the red and white furry suit." He tries to embody the spirit of Santa — and still dons the suit — to bring people together year-round.
- HireSanta.com, which brings Santa to his believers, still sees strong demand from malls, resorts and other large venues. But today, Santa interest also comes from private events, community festivals and even digital meetups.
- "When malls started closing and online shopping became the norm, families didn't stop wanting the magic, they just stopped gathering in the same places," Mitch Allen, HireSanta.com's founder and "head elf," tells Axios.
Case in point: Kinter, a retired rodeo clown, is no stranger to performing. But he started his Santa journey small, by dressing up for his family and at local events.
- He was hesitant to join TikTok and then, to livestream. But when moms began joining his streams, asking him to say hello to their kids, it marked a "life-changing moment."
- Now, he goes live as Santa daily. There are plenty of adults who connect with Kinter too, fueling his mission to "bring out that inner child in all of us."
- "I think we need to be connected more to that inner child. If we are, our imagination grows, we make things happen, we don't stop creating wonderful things in our lives."
Zoom out: There are some other social media Santas and Mrs. Clauses. But Kinter says he hopes to train more performers to reach the digital generation.
- "It is so new for a lot of them," he says. "It feels weird to say," Kinter tells Axios, but he's "blazing the trail" for modern Santas.
- "There's so many more people that need to have connections with genuine Santas, people that love what they're doing," he says. "It's our passion to bring the Santa kindness and goodness."
Part of the magic of becoming a digital-age Santa, Kinter says, is connecting with younger generations — from his granddaughter, who has helped run his account, to young people who sometimes need a virtual shoulder to lean on.
- He's not just Santa Claus but Santa Corky, who delivers prayers as well as presents, has to check his blood sugar, and sometimes cries on livestreams during a season when emotions run high.
- It's the time of year when "we're most vulnerable," he says. Sometimes, that means Santa may listen to more than just a wish list of toys.
- And Kinter tells Axios that's precisely the Santa he wants to be.
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