Courtsey photo John Burkitt volunteers at Gate City Bike CoOp in Nashua by fixing bikes and giving them away to those in need, but he also spends time making appearances as Santa during the holiday season.

NASHUA – Whether it is fixing bikes for free at the Gate City Bike CoOp, playing in the local jazz band “Wide Avenue Cohort,” or bringing a strong presence (and presents) to the community as Santa Claus, John Burkitt of Hudson can do it all.

With the holiday season here, people in the area may be seeing Santa around the city. But being Santa Claus isn’t always jolly, according to Burkitt. In fact, being a Santa takes more work than one might expect. To learn the trade, Burkitt said he attended a Santa camp at the end of summer.

There, he learned the basics: that Santa needs liability insurance, performance insurance and a background check. Also, Santa needs to grant wishes the right way, while Santa has to be educated for the holiday seasons.

Burkitt said he will be watching as many Santa Claus movies as possible to make sure he knows everything he could possibly need to know, from his locations, to his elves, to the names of his trusty reindeer.

Burkitt began his Santa Claus career two years ago at the Derry Public Library Santa Event.

“I had everything they needed – I had a white beard,” he joked.

From there, he got serious. Burkitt got involved with the International Brotherhood of Real-Bearded Santa’s New England Santa Society. He began attending Santa Suppers.

Being part of the Santa community has been rewarding for Burkitt, who said it involves a lot of neat aspects. Burkitt said last year, he attended a Santa Dinner at the Airport Diner in Manchester a week after Thanksgiving and ran into a young girl on his way. Burkitt said the girl was beside herself with joy.

“She was just so excited, and it was a really neat thing,” Burkitt said.

Being Santa is an important task, Burkitt said, adding, “You’re representing a lot of people.”

Being part of the Santa community has also allowed Burkitt to make connections with many people who he describes as being “selfless.” Previous Santas have handed down costumes to him, which Burkitt said can be expensive. In the future, Burkitt said he plans to hand down his costumes.

For the time being, Burkitt hopes to do more Santa bookings, whether that involves stores or private parties. Burkitt said there is currently a Santa shortage.

Meanwhile, Burkitt continues helping at Gate City Bike CoOp, which is completely self-funded at the moment.

Burkitt said he and his volunteers take unwanted bikes, fix them up and give the bikes away to the low-income community members in need. Burkitt said they have given away about 500 bikes in the last year.

“There has never been a Monday we’ve been open without giving away a bike,” Burkitt said.

As for being Santa, he said, “I can’t think of a better way to raise funds for us and bring some cheers.”

Grace Pecci can be reached at 594-1243, or at gpecci@nashuatelegraph.com.