Thousands of Canberra children turning up to Westfield Belconnen to meet Santa Claus and put in a Christmas request - only to find a couple of unhappy elves and an empty chair.

And yet it's a very real possibility this year as Canberra hits its first ever shortage of jolly old men to play Father Christmas.

Yep, we're in a Santa Claus drought here in the capital and the company behind our shopping mall Santas, Scene to Believe, is pulling out all the stops. It is advertising the very special position on Seek and Indeed, and this week contacted The Canberra Times for help.

The company is struggling to find suitable men to play Father Christmas in Belconnen and Woden.

It's a job suited to men with a "grandfatherly" personality, a love of children and excellent acting skills, according to Scene to Believe's Santa Manager Margaret Wolff.

"The most important thing is that kids need to walk away believing they've actually met Santa Claus," she says.

There is no ideal age, according to Margaret - she manages 380 Santas nationally ranging in age from 28 to 89. Santa candidates must have a current working with children check, a knowledge of current toy trends and a reasonable level of physical fitness (the role can be quite demanding).

Real "Santa" beards are desired but not essential.

Long-time Canberra shopping mall Santa Tony Moore, who played the role at Myer Civic and at Westfield Belconnen before finding his spiritual home at Tuggeranong's South Point, says playing Santa is a tough gig.

There's the heavy suit, meeting daily photograph targets and being consistently jolly for up to 10 hours a day.

And there's knowing what to say when kids ask for an axe or a chainsaw (the boys were the sons of a professional wood chopper and a tree surgeon, respectively).

The hardest part of the job is knowing how to respond when children ask "Can you make mummy and daddy love each other again?" or "Can you bring my nanna back?".

"I tell them to look for the brightest star in the sky and that's their nanna watching over them," Tony says.

"And when it comes to the other question I just say, 'Well, that's something mummy and daddy have to work out'."

But despite its challenges, playing the man in red is the "most rewarding job in the world".

"It's all about the kids - I'm not a Santa that will just sit down and take a photo and say 'Next!'," Tony says.

"I'll muck around, I'll play, I'll pick on the parents - especially those wearing football jumpers other than Parramatta.

"And when kids you saw when they were little start bringing in their own kids, it's just fantastic."

If you know someone who'd make the perfect Santa Claus for Woden or Belconnen head to the Scene to Believe job advertisement on Seek or email margaret@scenetobelieve.com