Stores introduced a new trend of "contactless Claus experience" to keep the Christmas magic alive due to the ongoing pandemic. They want to make sure that children still get to enjoy the holiday while they safely practice social distancing.
This year, "Bass Pro Shops" and Cabela's, a sister store, announced their new trend for the holidays. They started a "contactless Claus" program to keep everybody safe from the virus. On "Cabela's" Instagram, the company shared a video to give a preview of how they planned to make the festive season jolly.
A contactless visit with Santa
When you play the video, a voice-over would tell you that you could enjoy a safe way to celebrate the season with Santa. The voice-over tells you that thanks to their magic Santa shield, you could enjoy a contactless visit.
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Apart from that, their elves will also be cleaning surfaces in each visit while wearing face coverings to make sure that everyone is safe. The elves will also be practising physical distancing so there are more room in the area.
Stores will follow safety protocols
Visitors have to undergo temperature screening as part of increased safety measures. Depending on local guidelines, store owners may require visitors to wear masks with the employees also wearing face coverings. Due to the pandemic, businesses around the country have changed their holiday programming. Some announced that there will be no Santa visits, while others also follow suit with the "contactless Santa."
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No mall Santa for Macy's
Macy's announced a month ago that Santa Claus would not be visiting their flagship store in New York this year. Their other Chicago and San Francisco major stores would also skip Santa Claus visits due to the virus.
On the other hand, Brookfield Properties revealed their plans for the socially distanced photo ops with Mr. Claus. They wrote on their Instagram post that they found a creative solution to continue with the essential family tradition.
Brookefield will have a contactless Santa experience
Brookefield, one of the largest shopping mall operators of the country also explained in the post that they want to keep everyone safe despite making the holidays jolly. In their 134 shopping centers, the company would be hosting a contactless Santa experience. Kids could sit on presents at a safe distance with Santa so they could have photo ops safely. The children could also chat across from him.
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Another large mall operator in five states, PREIT, shared what they planned to do. The company announced that this year, they would use a plexiglass divider to make sure that the kids are safe when they sit on a bench in front of Santa.
PREIT will also be offering one-on-one Zoom calls with Santa for five minutes. Visitors could record the Zoom call so they could serve as mementos in the future.
