Santa Doug’s journey began in La Mesa, CA. in 1993 when Mrs. Lori hired him as a Real-Bearded Santa. This was an opportunity to begin work as a mall Santa which continued for the next 5 years at Grossmont Center.  In his younger days, Santa Doug’s beard was more reddish than was preferred on set, so Santa Doug began his career wearing a “designer beard”.

Mrs. Lori Claus was the manager at the Fox Photo location in Grossmont Center and had the challenging task of hiring Real- Bearded Santas for the Christmas Season every year.  This included overseeing the developing of all photos that were taken, which also involved the re-takes that were needed after the customer noticed that something was not quite right with the photo.  She learned a great deal about perfecting her customer service skills during the holiday season every year!

Santa Doug enjoyed working as a “mall Santa” from the very beginning.  This was during the beginning of the digital camera age, so all of our photos were taken with a 35mm camera and the photos needed to be developed.  This was a long process for the customer who had to wait for a few hours to pick-up their Santa photos.  Nothing like today, where the customer can choose from multiple images on a computer screen and get their printed photos in an instant!

The early years of working as at Grossmont Center gave Santa Doug some wonderful memories and experiences that have allowed him to work as one of the Santas at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA.  What a difference technology has made for the Santa business of today when compared to the use of 35mm cameras and the need to have the film developed. Santa Doug has worked at South Coast Plaza since 2011.  This has been a great opportunity, and Santa Doug and Mrs. Lori Claus have some long-lasting relationships with both the management team and the photography team at South Coast Plaza.