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You better be careful, you better not cry, you better not pout. I’m telling you why, Santa Claus … he may still be coming to town.
Yes, Santa is preparing for his first Christmas during the COVID-19 pandemic, which means changes to the usual grottoes, visits and parades.
His age and weight put the “key worker” at high risk of contracting coronavirus, so he will not be able to sit on his knees and he could be wearing a mask or sitting behind a screen.
Below is how events are being adapted to keep the joyous tradition alive based on current government guidelines.
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Caves
No celebration would be complete without a trip to see the man in person and several attractions like Drusillas Park in East Sussex and shopping malls, including Festival Place in Basingstoke, continue with plans to bring him back this year.
The Drusillas Park website reads: “Elf and security have been working hard to spread a little Christmas magic in the cabin to make sure it is a safe COVID experience.
“As you can imagine, it will be a little different from previous years, but we have done everything we can to make sure it remains very special, keeping all of our visitors and staff safe.”
Santa will be behind a Plexiglas screen and will not manipulate the presents, instead the children will sit on a socially distanced bench and pick up a gift from a toy chest.
His cabin, which will be disinfected regularly, has been doubled in size to allow plenty of space and new exhaust fans have been installed to help with air ventilation.
Other security measures at the zoo include online reservations, hand sanitizer, and a one-way route.
At Festival Place, families will need to stay 1.5m from Santa and his elves, who will be wearing face masks, and will be invited to select their own gift from Santa’s sack or receive one from the elf.
This year’s Santa’s Grotto at Festival Place in Basingstoke will be a socially distant event. Photo: Great caves
The virtual experience
Some companies have moved from physical meetings to online.
For just one day, young people will be able to have a 10-12 minute chat with Santa, Mrs Christmas and one of their elves via Zoom, rather than in person at the St Albans Museum. The event has been organized by St Albans for Refugees and all proceeds go to charity.
A children’s event company, Wonder Adventures, is hosting a virtual Santa experience through Facebook.
Families will be able to transport Santa from the North Pole to their homes for virtual chat, stories, songs, sleigh rides, and treasure hunts.
“Make the cocoa, break the cookie selection box, throw a log on the fire and snuggle up,” the signature writes on its Facebook page.
“You don’t need to go anywhere as we bring you our interactive Christmas magic.”
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Socially distanced events
In Scotland, plans are underway for Santa to make socially distanced visits to areas and some supermarkets (subject to COVID-19 restrictions) in Inverness in his sleigh.
The event, organized by the Rotary Club of Inverness Culloden, is expected to raise funds for good causes.
Reindeer Lodge in North Wales is organizing a reindeer safari, Santa’s Grotto and a toy workshop.
Santa Claus will remain in the open air and 2m away from all passing vehicles, and while face masks are not mandatory outdoors under current Welsh government guidelines, visitors will be encouraged to wear them when their windows are open.
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NORAD to track Santa
The outbreak has taken away a lot, but Santa’s trackers since 1955 at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will continue to operate despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Volunteers at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado will continue to receive calls on Christmas Eve to tell people, mostly young people, where Santa is flying.
But there will be some changes.
This year there will only be a small number of call handlers, so not all children will be able to speak to a volunteer and will instead receive a recorded update on Santa’s current location.
However, Santa Claus trackers can visit and monitor his whereabouts on the NORAD website, social media pages and the mobile app.
There will be fewer volunteers tracking Santa’s whereabouts on Christmas Eve 2020
