Santa will be behind plexiglass or six feet away this year

[Demovictory9]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8952699/Here-comes-Santa-Claus-face-masks-plexiglass.html

But malls, which have struggled to attract shoppers for years, are not willing to kill a holiday tradition that is one of their biggest ways to lure people during the all-important holiday shopping season.

'You have to give them a reason to come or they´ll stay home and shop online,' says Michael Brown, who oversees the retail team at consulting firm Kearney.

More than 10 million U.S. households visited Santa in a mall or store last year, according to GlobalData Retail´s managing director Neil Saunders. Nearly 73 per cent of them also spent money at nearby restaurants or stores, he says.

'Santa is the magnet that attracts people to malls and without that attraction, malls will struggle more to generate foot traffic,' says Saunders.

[Sherman A1]

1. Creative

But just so damn sad that we have to see this.

[Hortensis]

2. Poor malls. It'll be something to talk about for the older kids

and one of many unquestioned new experiences in the worlds of little ones. And no traumatic lap-dumps for unadventurous ones. They just need good santas, as always.

Occurs to me that 6 feet is the recommended minimum, not the definition of a safe place. Plexiglass might be best. Little ones could sit and climb on a ledge like that, wave and play through the glass with Santa. And even for PR shots there should be an elf around somewhere with a spray bottle and wipes.

[Fullduplexxx]

3. It's not the lack of santa that keeps people away

Santa can get covid? Maybe it's just time to stop lying to the kids

[LuvNewcastle]

5. My parents didn't play the Santa game with me.

I don't remember ever seriously believing in Santa, and it didn't ruin Christmas for me. My grandparents tried to do it with me, but I wasn't buying it. It seems to me that Christmas means more when you know that people you love are sacrificing to provide your gifts for you. The parents enjoy it more, too, when someone else isn't getting the credit for all their hard work.

[LuvNewcastle]

4. If I had little kids, I would probably tell them

that mommies and daddies were doing Santa's deliveries for him this year. Maybe I would work Amazon in as one of the delivery people, too. Tell the kids that Santa has to quarantine this year.

[Maeve]

10. We always told the kids that Santa delivered to the door

That way, if they saw us putting things under the tree....

Actually, we didn't emphasize Santa much--it was more a nice story for the holidays, because they knew we were shopping and hiding things for others, so....

[Voltaire2]

6. Here's a thought: stay out of malls,

and stay the fork away from ‘Santa’.

[a la izquierda]

7. They're apparently doing it virtually here in the UK.

Sucks for the kiddos, especially those too young to really understand.

[secondwind]

8. Frankly, the kids shouldn't be in a mall unmasked.

[lapfog_1]

9. not to mention

that the face shield, by itself without a mask, is almost useless.

[Demovictory9]

11. Santa needs a beard mask

[Demovictory9]

12. Neither should santa given his age