The back of the chair is foam-core rigid box frame construction, which keeps the strength up and the weight down. The entire chair, with back and hinged leg supports, the Santa bench and cushion, weighs in at less than 40 pounds. It has a handle on the back near the top for holding it while the casters are in use.

As the best compromise between fitting in the station wagon or SUV, the back measures 30 inches wide by 62 inches high. It is made from 1×2′s ripped to 7/8 inch width to match the construction foam panels. Both the front and back are 1/8 inch plywood as skins glued to the wooden frame and the foam core. The ledger support for holding the bench weight with Santa and guests, is glued and attached to the rigid frame of the back. The two leg flange assemblies are hinged to each side. Once they open out, the Santa bench or Santa chair (the bench with arms) rests on the two flange legs and the ledger.

We tested it at several venues and made minor adaptations to the design to improve and simplify; however, there was never any issue with being able to hold Santa and as many guests and he could fit! The idea for adding the arm assembly came too late to actually build it to use. There will be two different seat options on display at the Luncheon: 1) Santa Bench (18″ x 32″ with a 3″ foam cushion), and 2) Santa Chair (18″ x 32″ seat with foam cushion with the addition of 3″ x 16″ arms). With the arms, it should be possible for two parents to perch on the arms with 2 or 3 kids in Santa’s lap for a family photo.

One important point: “It is a prop chair,” says Santa Walter. It is not an ‘easy chair’ for whiling away the afternoon, but rather, it is a good-looking Santa chair for posing with photos. The back is straight up and down for ease of construction and transportation, very like a Victorian chair. There is no problem sitting up straight! The 3 inch foam cushion makes a 2 or 3 hour straight-through session go well.

As soon as the glue and paint dries (the series of weather fronts has been chilly and damp), we will take some pictures to post. Since figuring out the dimensions and construction details is fresh in his mind, Santa Walter is planning on drawing the plans for anyone who wants to purchase the plans to make their own. Of course, if a good wood worker reads our description and sees the picture, it is possible to make your own without the plans, and you have our blessing and permission. The rigid-frame foam core is light in weight, strong, and can be made from materials easily obtained at a local building supply such as Home Depot or Lowe’s.

Santa Charles and Mrs. Mary Jo Claus and the Santa Bench

Santa eNews

Because life happens, and the stress of a deadline has put it “over the top”, Santa Walter has had to postpone indefinitely the next issue of Santa eNews. Once things get back to more of an even keel, we will look to resume Santa eNews for the greater Santa community. Thanks for understanding. — Santa Walter

Develop Additional Company Parties

Family visits usually span 20 minutes to 40 minutes, while company parties have gone for as much as 4 hours. More company parties may mean fewer events but each being of longer duration. That should help on wear-and-tear during the hectic Christmas season, so company parties are the target. The ‘rifle approach’ means the dreaded “cold-calling”.  There are not many people who willingly risks the rejection of calling an unwilling prospect. A debt of gratitude is owing to Colleen Wainwright, the Communicatrix for her Cornell Entrepreneur Network workshop. From that invaluable webinar, I then connected with Ilise Benum, at MarketingMentor.com from whom came Marketing Calendar 2009, her newsletter, podcasts, and more. Once the Santa For Events webpage is refreshed and re-focused (thanks Colleen!), then the contacts begin. It is pretty simple in concept: call and connect with prospects, find out their needs, and ask them to become clients.

Santa Closer to Home

A continuous delima for the past 5 years has been driving 45 minutes to an hour to a Santa appearance, and then driving back, to only return to the same area later in the week. In the past, my goal was to try to manage the geography better, and set aside a geographical focus for a day; however, that has fallen apart every year for the past 3 years. When the client calls, they want to know if you can come on their day and time. Very few of them call first to find out availability and THEN sets their party date and time! So this year, the marketing will focus in my local area for company and private parties. The “shot-gun approach” has its place in tightly focusing and cleaning up the websites, connecting on social networks such as Facebook, and judicious Google ads.  The new family visits seem to come from out of the ether somehow. This season I hope to remember to ask the new clients how they found me.

Word-of-mouth Testimonials

Since the main thing I can do to specifically generate word-of-mouth connections is to do my best at meeting the needs of the client, I have instituted a 100% satisfaction guarantee. I will do the appearance for free if the client is not satisfied, within 30 days of the event. Even if they have already paid in full, a refund will be promptly tendered. My years in the hospitality industry convinces me that an unhappy customer is bad news, while a happy one is priceless. One extra step I plan this year is to put out several classified ads (SocialWave, Craig’s list, Kijii, etc) with my 30 second elevator-message that includes the guarantee as well as testimonials.

To the degree that my marketing efforts will pan out for this season my explicit plan is to: 1) open up more options with company Christmas parties, and 2) work closer to home with less zig-zagging back and forth, and 3) try to maintain the positive word-of-mouth advertising from dozens of satisfied clients. More posts are planned to explore these ideas further. Helpful comments and suggestions are always welcome.

Santa Walter dot COM

A new logo to represent Santa Walter has been developed, which will be used on the new site: http://santawalter.com

It is always gratifying when clients are satisified and take to time to say thanks.

Chat with Santa in Willow Glen