On-Demand Santa Clauses in Ufa: Prices and Surprises

For decades, Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden have been symbols of the New Year. These characters are supposed to bring gifts and are part of the New Year magic. In Ufa, there are many listings for their services at various prices. But what lies behind the price, what does it depend on, and is it worth overpaying? UFA1.RU tried to find answers to these questions.

The first listing on the classifieds site offered services for 3,500 rubles (approx. $35 at current rates). The seller writes that they have 3 to 7 years of experience, can take urgent orders, and the characters are ready to perform for any audience: be it children at home or a whole company at a corporate event. Weddings, graduations, concerts — all are possible.

They promise «premium costumes,» professional animators, spectacular New Year«s magic tricks, quizzes, bubbles, a »cold disco« — equipment is brought along. And, of course, handing over a gift, without that it»s not complete. Photos and videos (on the customer«s devices) are included in the service cost.

The listing does not specify the duration of the service. You need to pay attention to this and clarify before ordering: is 3,500 rubles for 15 minutes or half an hour?

Another entrepreneur offers a wider range of services: not only Santa Claus but also various animators. It seems the latter is the main activity, because there are no photos of Santa or the Snow Maiden. The ad author writes about themselves that they work with teenagers and children, have 3-7 years of experience, are ready to take urgent orders — even on weekends. They have their own equipment.

The services are more interesting: for 15 minutes, they can blow soap bubbles, organize a «paper masterclass» (what that is — not specified), or do 30 minutes of face painting. For these three items, the price is negotiable. Presumably, it depends on the number of children.

For 2,500 rubles (approx. $25 at current rates), they are ready to do an express congratulation for 15 minutes. Well, what more does a child need? You need to show that Santa Claus is an extremely busy guy, and his appearance is nothing other than a miracle. If you need an event lasting an hour or more, the price increases to at least 4,000 rubles. They are even ready to come to a kindergarten and organize a show there. As already mentioned, they don«t go to offices.

Moreover, they don«t stop at just Santa Claus: they can even dress up as Harry Potter — the saga is firmly associated with New Year in the post-Soviet space (perhaps due to magic and wonders).

Another entrepreneur was a bit more precise about the cost of a visit: Santa Claus with the Snow Maiden are ready to rush to your home until December 22 for a minimum of 3,500 rubles. From December 22 to 26, it«s already 500 rubles more expensive. The service duration is not specified, but on December 27, a 10-minute visit will cost from 2,000 rubles. Animators are ready to entertain older audiences: half an hour at a corporate event costs 5,000 rubles.

The seller says they are ready to cheer up even the shyest child, know many jokes and songs, apply an individual approach, taking into account the age and hobbies of the youngsters. Work experience is listed as over 10 years. But in general, there«s no way to verify this story.

And here«s what we understood: you shouldn»t choose immediately as soon as you find a suitable one. Wait a few days: if the ad isn«t removed, then everything is fine. This is already the second one that disappeared within a week.

If you thought 2-3 thousand rubles was expensive, we found even pricier options. Animators with about 10 years of experience for children and adults are ready to take urgent orders and all that. They can even go to a corporate event (they say they«ve even performed at »SU«) — that will cost from 8,000 rubles. The same goes for a trip to a kindergarten or school, a playroom or club (nightclub?).

Well, if you just need them to come home — from 6,500 rubles. They say that for this price, the staff starts glowing, and laughter, wonders, and fun games appear around. New Year characters will show magic tricks and glowing effects, a nitrogen show (meaning with liquid nitrogen), a smoke cannon, and more.

However, the ad does not specify the service duration — this needs to be clarified.

Surprisingly, Santa Claus services aren«t such a luxury: even setting the filter to »Most Expensive First,« we got a maximum of »from 7,000 rubles.« But among other things, we were interested in this ad: the characters will rush to your home on real horses. Whether you»ll be able to pet the hoofed animals or take a ride — not specified, but most likely, no.

Interestingly, the seller has only 4 reviews, all writing about a successful manure purchase. So it«s worth clarifying: are they bringing you manure or a celebration? Just kidding, of course, but after looking at their other ads, we wondered: in December, they sold a horse sled, and before that, the horse itself...

Manure isn«t the most surprising: another pair of Santa and Snow Maiden plan to arrive in a GAZ-21, others in a 50-year-old ZAZ-968.

Honestly, we don«t even know what»s better in this case. All this costs up to 6,000 rubles.

Another Santa Claus will rush and knock on your window. No wonder, since he«s an industrial climber: the only thing is, you need to organize parking on the roof so traffic police don»t take the sled. The maximum floor isn«t specified, but apparently, Santa isn»t bothered. But soon, the ad was removed by the sellers themselves.

Surprisingly, the Santa Claus market in Ufa isn«t very rich. Mostly, sellers offer the same thing: grandpa and his granddaughter will come, congratulate for 15 minutes, and go on their way.

There are animators ready to put on a show, which will be a bit more expensive, but that depends on the customer«s wishes. And if the soul requires something truly exquisite — look, grandpas on a »Volga« or »Zaporozhets« are ready to arrange everything. However, we think this entertainment is more for parents — children don»t care what car it is, they won«t even remember it tomorrow. And the point of any celebration is for it to be memorable and remain a bright childhood memory.

We noticed that the price depends not only on the visit itself and role-playing but also on what exactly they show you. A simple 15-minute visit — 1,500 rubles, but if you want, for example, some show, be prepared to pay significantly more.

By the way, we are used to calling the character Santa Claus here, remembering that in the States, he«s Santa Claus. And here»s a selection of Santas from other countries — for example, Austria and Japan. In Bashkortostan, they have their own Santa — Kysh Babai. It is believed that he was invented in the USSR — is that so?

According to modern laws, Grandpa must be officially registered to promote his services. But this allows us to understand how much he earns. A couple of weeks ago, he stopped in Ufa on his huge steam locomotive. Well, in general, children in their early school years begin to think about the reality of Santa Claus — a psychologist explains how to convey the whole truth to a child.