It's not enough to have a white beard and a red suit. According to employees at Electronic Digital Imaging, a potential mall Santa's background check is even more important, since he will be seeing hundreds of kids each day.

"Well, besides the basics, has to have a belly that jiggles like jelly and the red cherry nose, we interview. We do extensive background checks, so all the children are safe with all of our helpers," said Cris Jacobs of EDI.

Santa's personality also has to check out, Jabobs said.

"You have to be good with kids and things like that. You have to have a good heart,' said Santa, who also goes by Jerry Connor.

Connor has been wearing the red suit for 17 years.

"A friend of mine, he was collecting toys and stuff for underprivileged kids. At that time my beard was almost white, but I still had some black in it. But I was doing some parties and asking for toys and stuff for the kids, and that's how I really got started," he said.

Santa's also got to be patient, as not everyone's excited to sit on his lap.

"You also know that parents teach their kids don't go to strangers. That's where we have a little contradiction, because I am a stranger to them, you know. And we have a little problem with that once in a while, having them come up, but a majority of them are pretty good," he said.

Some kids look forward to telling Santa what they want for Christmas every year, and two said they're sure the Santa at the Ohio Valley Mall is the real deal.

"His beard's actually attached to him and he sounds like it too, and he kind of smells like cookies," said Morgan in Moundsville.