Of course, being Santa year-round isn’t always easy. You can never be naughty.

“You’ve always got to be aware of the children around you, and be ready to act as Santa at the drop of a hat, even in July,” Santa Dave Starr said over email.

“If someone cuts you off on the expressway, you have to wave back with five fingers, not one,” Santa Jerry Owens said. “You can’t say anything slanted or particularly political, because you are Santa. You don’t have those views. All you do is make toys.”

And yet, for the fully committed, the sacrifice is worth it.