Jennifer Harrison really digs her Claus into Christmas.
Ditching her naturally blond locks for snow white tresses, rocking Christmas-berry red nails and velveteen vestments to match, the 60-year-old New Yorker is Mrs. Claus.
“Putting on that costume makes me feel alive,” Harrison, a full-time portrayer of Santa’s wife, told The Post. During the latter half of the year, the mom of one and author spends two hours each day getting into Mrs. Claus glam, gearing up to inspire hope for the young and young at heart in Gotham.
“When I’m Mrs. Claus, everything is magical,” said Harrison, “whether I’m spreading joy at St. Patrick’s Cathedral or down in the subway.”
“Even the rats are adorable.”
But for everyday folks like Harrison, metamorphosing into North Pole nobility, be it Mrs. Claus or her holly jolly hubby, doesn’t just happen in the twinkle of a reindeer’s red nose.
The transformation is intense.
From finding the right wig to sprouting real whiskers, gaining weight and wearing the wintery wardrobe, becoming a Santa-verse representative is a heavy lift with physical, mental and emotional demands.
Brant Miller, the most popular Santa at the nation’s largest mall, The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, spends an entire year — and over $1,500 — swapping out his dark brown hair for the big guy’s white wisps.
“I love being Santa Claus,” Miller, 42, a married dad of two toddlers tells The Post.
He’s filled in for Father Christmas at the mall for the past nine years, visiting with over 98 kids (and pets on Sundays) per day, six days per week from late November through December 24.
“But,” said Miller, “I do sacrifice a lot during this time of year.”
Just as overtaxed moms, dads and grandparents are prone to feeling the sting of Christmas burnout (stress sparked by the busyness of the holidays), so are Saint Nick stand-ins at malls, on sidewalks and at private photoshoots — a viral trend that’s costing parents upwards of $1,000 per session.
“Santa’s shift is often long,” noted career experts at Monster.com in a recent report, adding that guys and gals impersonating Claus and his wife often work 12-hour stretches so that kids don’t notice when a new crew clocks in for the day.
“In that time, you’re talking to a steady stream of children, all sharing their Christmas wishes, asking sometimes tricky questions, and swearing up and down that they’ve been good,” warned the pros.
But putting up with tots — their whining, tantrums and wish lists — can pay off in a big way.
Mall Santas across the US earn an average of $48,997, annually, per December data via online job marketplace, ZipRecruiter.
The insiders, too, found that Kris Kringle troupers on the West Coast, in cities like Green River, Wyoming, and San Francisco, California, can rake in well over $56,000 each year.
Anna Weggel, Miller’s wife, says his Santa salary — a figure the couple chose not to disclose — helps keep their bank account merry and bright.
“It’s hard for the kids and me to not have him home that often,” Weggel, 39, a podcast producer, told The Post. She and Miller share a three-year-old daughter, Luna, and 10-month-old son, Remy. The tikes endearingly refer to Miller as “Santa Daddy” during his 29-day stint as the icon.
“But it really helps our family [financially],” added Weggel, who hopes to work by her husband’s side as Mrs. Claus one day.
However, for Miller, the gig isn’t about the money. It’s about the magic.
“There’s so much joy just seeing the kids come in with smiles on their faces,” he said. “They light up.”
A former cancer infusion specialist of two decades, Miller recently left healthcare to pursue video editing and full-time Santa work.
“I lose all my free time and time with my wife and kids,” he added of being Claus, “but it’s so worth it.”
To achieve the Ho-Ho-Ho pro’s look, Miller packs on an annual 10 pounds of jolliness, an in-character must made possible by cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies.
He also shaves off his chest-length beard on Christmas morning, and immediately begins growing out a new bush for the upcoming holiday season.
Throughout the new year, he forgoes haircuts and trims, allowing his strands — including his eyebrows — to lengthen sans interruption.
At the dawn of fall, he and his beautician begin the weeks-long process of taking his mop from milk chocolate to winter white.
“Bleaching starts in early November, about two to three weeks before my first day as Santa,” explained Miller, whose stylist uses haircare products from Trionics, cosmetics made from kelp, to lighten his locks. “I undergo a total of three sessions to go from brown to white.”
After the first treatment, Miller’s hair boasts an “orange juice” shade that he’s forced to live with for nearly a week before his next dye job, which turns him into a blonde.
A week later, he’s back at the beauty salon for the final whitening.
“In between each session and after the third one, I use Olaplex’s purple shampoo, No. 3 deep conditioner, No. 6 leave-in conditioner and No. 8 oil to preserve my hair,” he said. “And while I’m working as Santa, I go back to my stylist for three additional touch-ups to the dye job.”
And then there’s his makeup.
To mimic Father Christmas’ mug, Miller paints his face in a Maybelline liquid foundation and a white cream from MEHRON.
Both goops are a few shades lighter than his natural skin tone. A cooler hue helps the millennial look a bit older, maturing him to Santa’s estimated age of approximately 1,700 years old.
It’s a trick Miller learned from his mom, a former Revlon and Estée Lauder rep, who also gave him a vial of liquid red makeup — which is so old that the label’s worn off — that he uses on his cheeks to create a rosy glow.
“It takes about 30 minutes to do my makeup each day,” said Miller, who gussies up in an old Gap dressing room. “I don’t wear the traditional Santa suit, I wear the more casual ‘Workshop Santa’ costume.”
The ‘fit, a handmade number stitched by an oncology nurse who once worked Minnesota opera and the Guthrie costume shop, consists of a pair of velvet cutoff pants, a button-up shirt, Christmas-striped socks, London-style Birkenstock clogs and a wiry pair of reader glasses.
Sure, his days are long and makeover costs are high. But Miller plans to play Santa until he’s actually old and naturally gray.
“It’s something I look forward to every year.”
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