About 90 Percent.pdf

The 2013 Red Suit Survey collected data from 652-658 Santas, with an average age of 63.01 years and average weight of 256.21 pounds. 78.8% of respondents believed the "Bowl of Jelly" is real, while 19.7% thought it was padding. The average number of years as a Santa was 13.43 years, with 34 Santas having one year or less of experience and three having over 60 years of experience.

The majority of Santas (87.2%) appeared at private and corporate parties, 80.7% at charitable events, and 46% worked for photo companies or malls. 91.7% of respondents were "Real Bearded" Santas, and 63.3% had always had a real beard. 60.7% of Santas reported having their beard pulled by children, and 25% by adults. The average boot size was 11, and 79.4% of Santas reported children stepping on their boots 1-5 times a day.

68% of Santas reported that less than 10% of visiting babies cried, and the preferred hand-out item was candy canes (50.7%). The longest distance traveled for a regular Santa visit was over 250 miles for 11.7% of respondents. Favorite cookies included chocolate chip (42.8%), oatmeal raisin (19.4%), and peanut butter (9.4%). Favorite Christmas Eve beverages were hot cocoa (28.8%) and milk (28.2%). The favorite Christmas song was Silent Night (16.4%), and the favorite greeting was Merry Christmas (93.4%). The favorite movie was Miracle on 34th Street (39.3%).