For most children, Santa Claus is a jolly man in a red suit who travels the world delivering presents on Christmas Eve. For David Starr, Santa Claus is a full-time job, with more than $1,000 in costumes, an hour of makeup, years of specialized schooling and, soon, a dissertation.
For most children, Santa Claus is a jolly man in a red suit who travels the world delivering presents on Christmas Eve. For David Starr, aka Santa Dave, Santa Claus is a full-time job, with more than $1,000 in costumes, an hour of makeup, years of specialized schooling and, soon, a dissertation.
Yes, Santa Claus is getting a Ph.D.
Starr has spent the past 13 years portraying Santa at events across North Texas and beyond. He recently earned his advanced master’s certificate from a Santa school. Now, he’s preparing a dissertation for the International University of Santa Claus on a subject he knows particularly well: Santa in a technological world.
Before he traded software for sleigh bells, Starr spent decades working in software development in the financial technology space and maintaining a professional photography career on the side.
This late-in-life career, however, started with a cheap Santa suit he purchased on Amazon for a family gathering.
“I enjoyed it a lot,” he says. “So then I started looking into Santa schools.”
He attended his first school before taking on professional Santa appearances, returning every year or so for additional training.
“It’s the best job I’ve ever had,” he says. “I get to make people smile.”
While most people associate Santa with the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Starr’s red suit is a year-round affair. He frequently finds himself posing for pictures with strangers at restaurants, where the white beard and red clothing tend to attract attention even in the middle of summer.
Beneath the cheerful exterior is a surprising amount of work.
Photography by Victoria Gomez
Santa school teaches performers how to interact with children, respond to difficult questions, recognize potential signs of abuse and navigate emotionally sensitive situations. Students also study the history of Santa Claus, preparing them to answer questions from curious children who may be looking for holes in the Christmas story.
“When a child asks you questions, you have to have an answer on the tip of your tongue,” Starr says. “Otherwise, the child will know you’re lying.”
He has even taken improvisational comedy classes from a former Disney World comedian to sharpen his ability to think on his feet, he says. One encounter, in particular, has stayed with him.
While appearing at a holiday event organized by a chiropractor in a low-income South Dallas neighborhood, Starr noticed that the children’s Christmas lists were often short. Unlike some children who arrived with lengthy requests, many asked for just one toy.
Those skills come in handy when children ask for something Santa can’t deliver.
Then a little boy approached.
“I asked him, ‘What would you like for Christmas?’” Starr recalls. “And he thought for a minute. He said, ‘I would like a mattress to sleep on.’”
Other encounters have been considerably more lighthearted.
At a breakfast event at a country club, a mother approached Starr privately with a problem: Her 9-year-old daughter was beginning to question whether Santa was real.
The mother wanted one more year of Christmas magic.
Starr asked for details about the girl’s life, memorizing her name, her dog’s name, her teacher and her hobbies. When the family approached about 20 minutes later, the girl’s younger brothers eagerly climbed onto Santa’s lap. Their older sister stood nearby, arms crossed and skeptical.
Starr greeted her by name and told her he had been waiting for her all morning.
He began asking about her dog, her tennis lessons and her teacher.
“I think she left a real believer,” he says.
This holiday season, Plano families will have an opportunity to meet Starr at Heritage Farmstead Museum, where he is returning as Santa for the second consecutive year.
His own connections to Plano run deep. He lives near Schimelpfenig Library, and his children attended Plano ISD schools.
Although his roots are local, his Santa appearances have taken him far beyond Collin County.
He’s worked Christmas celebrations for the Dallas Stars, posed with a live reindeer at the Omni PGA Frisco Resort and visited families from a variety of cultural backgrounds. He’s even appeared virtually for a family in Manila, Philippines.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when in-person gatherings disappeared, Starr leaned on his technology background to keep the Christmas spirit alive.
He created a green-screen studio at home, complete with digital elves walking behind him carrying presents for the sleigh. A soundboard allows him to communicate with offscreen elves and check whether children are on the naughty or nice list.
One of his elves, Neville, can even confirm a child’s good standing in an appropriately elfish voice.
The setup remains part of his Santa business today and is helping inspire his planned doctoral presentation on how Santa performers can use technology and social media.
Starr is also a founding member of an international network of Santa performers who share resources and participate in continuing education.
“Santa’s universal,” he says.
And business is booming. After a slowdown following the pandemic, Starr says demand has returned in full force. His calendar is booked solid from Nov. 19 through Christmas Day, with a mix of corporate parties, private gatherings and public appearances.
After 13 years of Santa school, improv lessons, professional appearances and a growing collection of credentials, he’s still finding ways to improve.
After all, even Santa has homework.
Santa Dave. Photography by Victoria Gomez