Santa Claus’ annual Christmas operation isn’t a particularly high-tech enterprise, but he has managed to implement a few modern twists over the years, such as NORAD’s annual Santa Tracker website.
But now there’s another emerging tradition, spurred by faster internet access and the ubiquity of camera-enabled devices: video calls with Santa. And it’s an area where a group of Clark County entrepreneurs are eager to establish their presence.
Two neighboring local families have been collaborating for the past three years to build a service for video calls with Santa, and they’re ready to roll it out this year. They call the program Welcome Santa.
“We’re a Christmas family,” says Sharon Lueck, one of the co-founders. “For us it’s all about the magic — the spirit of Santa Claus.”
“We just want people to believe in Santa again,” adds co-founder Kelly Stone.
Tech specs
The service uses a web-based video-calling client, so users don’t have to install any new programs — all they need is an internet connection and a web browser. The device doesn’t have to be a computer — Lueck says the calls can be made from smartphones — although she recommends using a tablet or full computer if possible so that the kids get to see Santa on a larger screen.
Parents can sign on to the service’s website, welcomesanta.com, and schedule a five-minute call at a cost of $29.99. According to Lueck, the five-minute increment was chosen because it tends to be the average amount of time that youngsters can stay focused, even on a call with someone as important as Santa Claus.
Up to two children can participate in each call, and parents can send information about their kids during the scheduling process so that Santa can learn their names and get to know them a bit before the call begins. Parents will also be sent a keepsake video of the call.
The Santas at the other end of the call are positioned in front a backdrop that puts them in the middle of the elf workshop or another North Pole location. In reality, thanks to the internet, the Santas could be anywhere in the United States — and the wide distribution is helpful for parents trying to schedule calls in different time zones, Lueck says.
The Santas also all have strong internet connections and HD cameras and microphones, to ensure that the kids on the other end get a clear picture, and the service is hosted on private servers to maintain call quality.
“That’s what we strived for — top-end consistency,” Lueck says. “We took our time because we wanted to truly think of everything.”
Lueck says she and her fellow company founders are confident that the high-quality hardware and the company’s use of background-checked professional Santas will set it apart from competitors in the Santa video calling space.
“We have a nationwide team of professional Santas; this is not the cotton ball beard guy,” she says. “This is not a simple process to put together.”
The service is available from Nov. 23 to Dec. 23, and the website provides a list of the required equipment and internet speeds.
Getting Santa online
Lueck, Kelly Stone and her husband, co-founder Dave Stone, say the inspiration for the video service came from the frequency with which they all used Skype to communicate with far-flung family members during the holidays.
They spent three years developing the service for launch this year, with software developed by Lueck’s son, Fred Lueck, and two of his friends in the software engineering industry, who worked to make sure the service was reliable and secure.
“That’s a concern for parents, so we spent a lot of time on that,” she says.
Once the software was in place, the crew turned to the next phase of development: recruiting Santas. In April, they traveled to the International Santa Celebration in Denver, hosted by the International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas.
The Brotherhood is one of several Santa organizations that typically work to connect shopping malls and other destinations with professional holiday Santas. The Brotherhood and other groups require background checks for their member Santas and offer insurance for their work.
Lueck and Kelly Stone found no shortage of Santas interested in joining the web chat service. One of the collaborating Santas, Jim Wood — known professionally as Santa Jim – turned out to live just a few miles away in Vancouver.
“It’s a great opportunity for professional Santas to fill in their schedules,” Kelly Stone says.
Test run
On an early November afternoon, Lueck and Santa Jim arrive at the Stones’ house and walk through the process as they prepare for a hardware test. He’s dressed in full Santa regalia, right down to the custom boots equipped with a pair of decorative S ornaments on the laces.
Santa Jim has appeared in numerous Vancouver locations over the years — you may have seen him at Chuck’s Market — and he says he was interested in the web service as a way to complement his existing work and fill out his schedule.
There are all kinds of things that can prevent kids from being able to see Santa, he points out — bad weather, parental scheduling conflicts, and of course kids who simply live in locations too remote to visit a mall with a Santa. The web service breaks down many of those barriers.
“I did a mall for a couple of years,” he says. “They give you 30 seconds per kid, so you don’t really get a chance to talk to them. I think it’s going to be a great program this year.”
It also creates an opportunity for more meaningful conversations than the mall interactions sometimes provide, Lueck adds. Sometimes kids can be a bit overwhelmed when they actually find themselves face-to-face with the jolly old elf – a phenomenon memorably illustrated in the movie “A Christmas Story.”
A Santa on a video screen is a bit less larger-than-life, Leuck says, and the home environment will hopefully help some of the shy kids find their voices.
For the first year, Stone says the group is just going to focus on making sure the technology works right, but they’re already thinking about ways to expand in future years, such as with the addition of Santas who speak other languages including American Sign Language.
But even as the technology continues to move forward, Santa Jim makes it clear that when Christmas finally arrives, other long-standing Santa traditions will stick around.
“Don’t forget to leave me a cookie,” he says with a smile. “Maybe two cookies.”
