I've played Santa for 17 years, and these are the questions I get asked most often - like how much a Santa makes and whether I've gotten peed on

This one comes up a lot, and I don't have a good answer for it. A six- or seven-year-old boy recently asked me for a blanket and a pillow for his little brother — I was appearing for a group of homeless children at the time. Many of the children asked me to bring gifts to their parents, including helping them get a job. A few asked if they could come back to the North Pole with me.

Moments like these can be very poignant and make me feel sad for their circumstances — but also happy about being a part of something that is giving them some joy and happiness in the moment, and hopefully inspiring some faith about the future.

I was a volunteer Santa for seven years, and a paid Santa for two years before attending a Santa School. In fact, I started teaching other Santas what I had learned before attending a Santa School. In 2013 and 2014, I was asked to be a guest presenter at two different Santa Schools. I was honored to have been invited, and I attended all of the sessions.

One of the schools covered the history of Santa Claus and the Christmas traditions in great depth. The other gave a live demonstration on beard grooming. I found both interesting and fun to attend.

Now, I operate the largest Santa Claus School in the world, The-Santa-Claus-Conservatory.com. It's been called "the Stanford of Santa schools." It's all online, and we have more than 3,000 members worldwide.

There are some people who play Santa Claus that earn a lot of money; Hollywood actors like Kurt Russell and Ed Asner come to mind. Of course, these are "real" actors, not Santas, but the line does get blurry. I and many members of The Santa Claus Conservatory have appeared in commercials, TV shows, and movies. These things can add substantially to a Santa's income.

Same with being a "brand ambassador." Many Santas, including me, have partnered with brands to be their ambassador of the Christmas spirit.

Many Santas spend time in October and early November working the photo studios — this too can increase a Santa's income.

So the question of income is difficult to answer, ranging typically to a few thousand dollars for a mall or retail Santa to $30,000 — $40,0000 or even $50,000 or more (sometimes much more) for the very few Santas who work year round and pursue work in the entertainment industry, or become brand ambassadors.

The answer for me is none … but there have been a couple of Santas who have had that happen.

Most of the beard pulling is inadvertent by infants. The second most common group of beard tuggers are playful dads … and yes, there is the occasional six-, seven-, or eight-year-old that will sneak a little tug.

This is probably no surprise, but phones are certainly near the top of the list. Legos, dolls, hoverboards ... the list is long. I'm also hearing more requests for things like a family vacation and playing games with the family. This move toward "experiences" rather than "physical gifts" is new and growing.

My biggest joy in life is being a grandparent, so I spend a lot of time with the grandkids … but maybe that's also being Santa.

Ed Taylor is the founder of Worldwide Santa Claus Network, a network for Clauses and non-Clauses committed to spreading the Christmas spirit far and wide all year long.