Today we’d like to introduce you to Crystal Freeman
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Growing up my father portrayed Santa at family or church gatherings so having Santa’s helpers around has been a part of my life as long as I can remember. My husband Jason portrayed Santa in his 20s and began again in 2019 with me running the administrative side of the business. He became so popular that I was turning people away. I hated the thought that some children would not have the opportunity to visit with Santa so we brought on additional Santas in 2021. For our most recent season, we worked with twelve Santas and two Mrs. Claus.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been somewhat smooth with steady growth. Learning the business side of this venture has been a learning process as well as learning the Santa side. There are Santa schools, Santa societies, ways to bleach a beard white, costuming, character stories, etc that must be learned and then taught to our other performers.
Last year proved to be a bit difficult with working around Santas with kidney stones, COVID, shingles, as well as one in a car wreck, computer issues and general problems arising. We have learned A LOT in the last 5 years and look forward to many more.
As you know, we’re big fans of Santa On Call LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Santa On Call LLC is a Knoxville family owned and operated company serving the Southeast. We create cherished holiday memories by booking characters for business appearances, corporate parties, home visits and professional photography sessions. We have worked with companies such as Coca-Cola, Food City, Visit Knoxville, Ober Gatlinburg, Camping World and loads of small businesses.
This year, we are thrilled to be working with twelve Santas and two Mrs. Claus. We exclusively work with the best of the best holiday entertainers! They embody the spirit of Christmas and are exceptional story tellers. Their costumes are top of the line, with real boots as opposed to plastic covers, real leather belts as opposed to imitation material and, most importantly, all our Santas have real white beards. Our characters are thoroughly trained, carry liability insurance and provide a clean background check.
To make our clients’ experience as easy as possible, all communication, invoicing and payment are handled through Santa On Call LLC. It’s never been easier to enjoy a special moment with Santa during the holiday season!
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
What an interesting question! I actually don’t believe in luck but I do believe our steps are ordered by God. When my husband began portraying Santa in 2019 we had no idea what 2020 had in store for the world. Many of the Santas that previously appeared were an older population and were at a higher risk of developing complications if they were to get COVID. Because of this, many refused to portray Santa or would only do video-calls. My husband was 43 at the time so he was more comfortable being around people, even children. We took precautions, as did most of the world, but we were practically the only business booking appearances. This helped spring-board our business into what it is today. Some would say it was luck, but we believe it was God’s plan all along.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.santaoncallknox.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/santaoncallknox/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SantaonCall
- Other: https://linktr.ee/santaoncallknox
