Don’t let the kids read this.

(Undated) — Jolly Old Saint Nick might not make it to your town this year as America still recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, Santas throughout the country lost gigs as it was the first season of the coronavirus pandemic. This year, there is a demand to go back to the traditional visits with Santa, but Santas are hard to come by. The founder of HireSanta.com tells USA Today demand is up over 120 percent from pre-pandemic levels and that over the past year some 700 Santas have died, around 300 to 500 of those due to the coronavirus. Santas are typically older, so that places them in the high risk category of dealing with complications of COVID-19. That may be the major factor in why more people aren’t donning the red suit out in public and interacting with hundreds of people.