Tim Connaghan owns Real Santa in Riverside, a real-bearded Santa provider who hires 450 Santas to appear in stores, parades and parties and retail shops nationwide.

Real Santa began in November 1998 and charges $175 to $200 an hour. Each Santa sports genuine whiskers and wears a custom-made Santa suit that costs $500 to $3,000.

Real Santas start working right after Thanksgiving, when malls and retail stores gear up for Christmas and decorate stores with holiday appeal that includes a real Santa Claus to greet and be photographed with the kids.

"The holidays are the bread-and-butter season for retail shops, and having a Santa at a mall adds to the ambience and draws customers to the stores," Connaghan said.

For 36 years, Connaghan has played the fabled holiday figure from November to December.

From January to October, he dons a business suit and logs his hours at the Red Roof Inn in Ontario as director of marketing and sales.

"It's great what Tim does. He's appeared on television shows and commercials and I am happy to let him take the time off to be Santa Claus," Red Roof Inn General Manager Jim Flowers said.

THE SANTA BAROMETER

"Maybe we're a barometer for business, because we're not a necessity for holiday parties," Connaghan said. "But when business is up, we start getting more requests and when business is down, requests dwindle."

Real Santa received 1,200 requests this Christmas and business is up 11%.

But Connahan turned away 40% of the 1,200 requests his firm received because Real Santa does not have an office manager or enough Santa Clauses to handle all the business.

"I need an office manager to help so I am not held back," Connaghan said. "I have to shut down the office whenever I am in the field and when that happens, I lose some business."

Next year Connaghan plans to hire an office manager to handle requests while he is in the field and will continue to look for more Santa Clauses to help fill requests.

"Los Angeles has a lot of Santa Clauses and I' have 12 working in the Inland Empire," he said. "But there are very few Santa Clauses in New York and Chicago."

The real-bearded Santa business is a niche market and seasonal, Connaghn said. So during the summer, Real Santa holds workshops and seminars for people interested in the business and for networking.