This Marietta salon helps Santas get holiday-ready
At Three-13 Salon, Spa & Boutique in Marietta, Santa Claus is in foils.
Toward the back of the salon, in a corner that now resembles a North Pole back office, snowy-bearded men shuffle between shampoo bowls and color processors while stylist Shannon Woodard works her way through the holiday rush.
“We usually start in Septemberish,” Woodard told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, combing brightening glaze through a beard. “Some Santas I see every two weeks, some every three. Some are already gray and I won’t see them again until next year. It just depends — it takes some of them longer to get white than others.”
She fell into the job almost by accident eight years ago.
“It was just one gentleman I started with named Glen,” she said. “Then it just kind of happened. I didn’t choose it; it chose me.”
Now she cares for more than 15 Santas — some in their 30s, others well into their 80s — each with an origin story as distinct as the hair colors she’s learned to disguise.
“Some of it’s childhood aspiration,” she said. “Some lost a parent around Christmas, and they wanted to carry that on. They started championing Christmas for everyone.”
Meet the men behind the magic
On this particular day, two working Santas sit in Woodard’s chairs: Santa Cesar Janeira and Santa Jeremiah Mitchell, two Atlanta-area Santas with entirely different paths to the red suit.
Janeira credits Santa Rick Rosenthal, the beloved Atlanta Santa who founded the Northern Lights Santa Academy in 2016, with discovering him.
“I’m a founding member of Atlanta United,” he told the AJC. “One day I’m touring Mercedes-Benz Stadium and I see this guy who looks like Santa. I put my hand up — high five, Santa.”
That Santa turned out to be Rosenthal.
“He turns around and goes, ‘You would be a great Santa,’” Janeira said. “My family agreed, so I called the number on the card he gave me and that was it.”
Since then, Janeira has appeared in a Prime video “Santa School” (along with Rosenthal), worked countless events across Atlanta and has even been featured in a national Santa book.
Sitting beside him is Mitchell, who didn’t need any recruiting at all — Santa runs in the family.
“My father is a Santa Claus. His father was a Santa Claus,” he shared. “So it’s kind of a family tradition.”
His father, he added, toured with Macy’s during its Make-A-Wish holiday tour, traveling from Thanksgiving down the entire East Coast to Miami. As a young child, Mitchell would sometimes tag along, slipping into an elf costume when Santa asked. Now he serves as a backup for his dad while working full-time in the Fulton County School District.
The transformation (and the training)
Training, they say, is serious business. Looking like Santa is just one piece; you also have to be Santa.
The Northern Lights Santa Academy spends days teaching Santas how to interact with children, support kids with special needs, connect with families and even master the finer points of North Pole “magic.”
And while Mitchell trained through Macy’s and Janeira studied under Rosenthal at the Academy, both said the Santa world is deeply connected no matter where you learn your craft.
“We are all part of the Claus family,” Janeira said. “We’re all brothers.”
They share everything: Where to buy suits, who makes the best belts, how to book events and which boots won’t blister during a six-hour photo shift. But their most important secret?
Fairy dust.
“Red fairy dust makes the reindeer fly,” Janeira explained. “Green fairy dust manages time. Blue fairy dust — when the bag is almost empty, Santa sprinkles blue fairy dust in the bag and magically toys are teleported from the North Pole.”
The power of looking the part
As Rosenthal famously teaches, the hair and beard are non-negotiable.
“One of the most important things about being Santa is not the suit,” Woodard said he once told her. “There’s one thing that’s consistent: the white beard.”
That makes Woodard, in many ways, the most essential elf on the roster. She doesn’t just manage tones and trims — she’s preparing the men who’ll bring magic to thousands of children across metro Atlanta, one foil packet at a time.
Woodard admits she wasn’t always a Christmas person, but working with Santas has changed that.
“The holidays can be tough. So I do get a little more inspired when I’m with these gentlemen and hearing their stories,” she said.
She knows only a small part of what these Santas carry with them. The rest plays out far beyond her chair. The stories they share in the salon follow the men into the places where their presence matters most: neighborhood celebrations, children’s hospitals and the quiet moments when a child needs comfort more than anything.
Mitchell has seen that impact up close.
“Especially with terminally ill or very sick kids, the last thing you want to see is a hospital bed on Christmas,” he said. “For the families, too, it means everything. They get to see their child smiling, happy, even if just for a moment. And really … what’s a smile worth?”
For many families, these helpers are the ones who bring the season to life. Their beards aren’t just a look. They’re a promise to show up for children with kindness, warmth and wonder.
Janeira jokes that being Santa follows him everywhere — even down grocery store aisles.
“You see a child acting up … I’ve walked up and said, ‘What’s going on here? I can hear you from two aisles over. Don’t be on the naughty list!’”
But beneath the humor is a message he wishes every adult would take to heart.
“We live in an ugly world, but around Christmastime, things get a little better … people are a little nicer, a little more understanding. So why don’t we do that year-round?” he said. “Be good and be kind — that kind of sums it up.”
About the Author
Avery Newmark covers travel, wellness, events and trending news for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. With a dual background in film production and journalism, Avery came to the AJC after working as a video editor. She enjoys film photography and live music in her free time. Reach her at avery.newmark@ajc.com.
