FAIRFIELD-SUISUN, CALIFORNIA
$750 to Zoom with Santa? How COVID-19 changed the business of playing St. Nick [Los Angeles Times :: BC-CORONAVIRUS-SANTA:LA]
Elusiveness has always been part of the Santa Claus brand.
He comes and goes in the night, leaving little trace but Christmas presents and cookie crumbs. He lives at the North Pole, of all places. The only way to contact him is by snail mail.
Only during the holiday season does Santa become accessible, offering up his lap while he poses for pictures and listens to wish lists. In this pandemic-plagued year, he’s doing his best to maintain a presence at malls, family gatherings and Christmas tree lots, but like the rest of us, he has had to adjust.
Elusiveness has always been part of the Santa Claus brand.
He comes and goes in the night, leaving little trace but Christmas presents and cookie crumbs. He lives at the North Pole, of all places. The only way to contact him is by snail mail.
Only during the holiday season does Santa become accessible, offering up his lap while he poses for pictures and listens to wish lists. In this pandemic-plagued year, he’s doing his best to maintain a presence at malls, family gatherings and Christmas tree lots, but like the rest of us, he has had to adjust.
Santa Claus is coming to the mall just don’t try to sit on his lap.
Despite the pandemic and the fact that Santa s age and weight put him at high risk for severe illness from the coronavirus mall owners are going ahead with plans to bring him back this year.
But they are doing all they can to keep the jolly old man safe, including banning kids from sitting on his knee, no matter if they ve been naughty or nice.
Kids will instead tell Santa what they want for Christmas from 6 feet away, and sometimes from behind a sheet of plexiglass. Santa and his visitors may need to wear a face mask, even while posing for photos. And some malls will put faux gift boxes and other decorations in front of Saint Nick to block kids from charging toward him.
For 13 years, Hugh McDowell has donned a red Santa suit and brought smiles to the faces of children in Gainesville. But this year, he has no reindeer, no sleigh. This year, like the rest of America, McDowell is on Zoom.
“I have to protect my family,” he said.
During this merry time of the year, McDowell, 73, usually works as Santa and makes appearances for corporate, charity or community events. But this holiday season, he has been forced to play St. Nick via his computer.
The coronavirus pandemic has upended every aspect of life, and Christmas is no exception. Public health experts warn that letting children sit on Santa’s lap breaks the 6-feet-apart social distancing rule.