Visits to Santa Claus are a time-honored tradition for many children and families during the Christmas season. But this year, like many other traditions in 2020, some things have had to change.
COVID-19 cases are expected to continue rising during the holidays. And since social distancing is impossible to do while sitting on Santa’s lap, shopping malls and other locations have had to come up with creative ways to give children the traditional Santa experience while still keeping everyone safe.
Some of those creative solutions might look very different from years past, including Plexiglass barriers and Zoom calls. So if you’re thinking of taking the kids to visit St. Nick this year — whether in-person or online — here’s what you need to know.
Can you still visit Santa in person this year?
Macy’s department stores are not hosting Santa Claus visits for the first time in 159 years — an iconic tradition celebrated in the 1947 movie “Miracle on 34th Street.”
But that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to find Santa this year. Some shopping malls and other traditional Santa locations, like outdoor stores Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s, will still have in-person visits, but don’t expect those visits to look the same as they did pre-pandemic. Here are some of the changes you might see:
- Advanced reservations required for a visit to allow for social distancing.
- Temperature screenings for families after arriving at the visit.
- Face masks or shields required for Santa and other employees, as well as for visiting children and families, depending on local guidelines.
- A clear Plexiglass barrier to separate Santa from children during visits.
- Hand sanitizer stations, as well as employees sanitizing materials between each visit.
Some shopping malls will take things a step further, and will have Santa sitting inside an inflatable snow globe in order to ensure a contactless visit, according to CNN.
“Some people have said that they’re going to throw Santa away” this year, Kathryn Burgess, the creator of Snow Globe Personal Protective Equipment, told CNBC. “And I just believe that’s such a disservice to the character of who Santa Claus is. Santa Claus has survived everything from the Spanish flu to the bubonic plague. And he’s not afraid of COVID-19.”
How can you have a virtual Santa visit?
As Macy’s is not having in-person Santa visits in its stores this year, it is moving all of its festivities online — and it’s not the only store to do so, either.
Macy’s “Santaland” is a virtual event this year, and among other activities, will allow children to interact with a prerecorded video message from Santa and take a selfie with him.
But other stores, like Sam’s Club, will give children a set amount of time to talk to a live Santa through Zoom and take a picture together.
Meanwhile, companies like HireSanta.com and JingleRing have seen demand for virtual Santa visits explode this year, according to The Guardian. And even companies like Airbnb have begun promoting online “festive experiences” with Santa.
Tim Connaghan of Long Island, who has played the role of Santa at parties and events for nearly 50 years, told the New York Post he believes virtual visits are “the best possible alternative to a live visit with Santa, which cannot be set up in … every instance. The kids are very smart. They understand what’s going on.”
How else does COVID-19 affect Santa?
The COVID-19 pandemic carries potential risks not just for families during Santa visits, but for the Santas themselves.
“A significant number of my colleagues are hanging up the red suit for 2020 because many of us are in high-risk categories: old, overweight and with underlying medical conditions,” Santa performer Lance Skapura of Pittsburgh told The Guardian.
For this reason, many professional Santas are turning to virtual events as a safer alternative, The Guardian reported. Last year, the website HireSanta.com had less than 10 Santas to keep up with demand for virtual visits — but this year they’ve hired hundreds more.
As for St. Nicholas himself, who is also part of the same high-risk categories for COVID-19, Dr. Anthony Fauci said recently there was no need to worry about him, as the Deseret News reported.
“Santa, of all the good qualities, has a lot of good innate immunity,” Fauci told USA Today. “Santa is not going to be spreading any infections to anybody.”