Let’s admit it.. he made you smile. He made you look twice.. he made you get just a little too queasy.. It’s the Mall Santa, the dead art.. . the old jolly helper who filled antiquated shopping centers with laughter and frivolity..
You no doubt have a photo of your children or grandchildren on the lap of one of these beings.. either in an album or fridge..
He is synonymous with Christmas.. and he is a dying art.
Among the money quotes from the article:
Santas earn anywhere from $4,000 to $5,000 total for store and mall appearances during the holidays, according to Santa performer Ed Taylor, owner and operator of the Santa Claus Conservatory, an online school for Santas.“There’s these amazing black swan malls out there busy from morning to night,” Taylor told CNN Business. “They have Santa houses, photos, videos for the families. It becomes essentially a destination.”One such venue is Mall at Short Hills in Millburn, New Jersey, which unveiled its Santa’s Flight Academy promotion once again on November 7. The colorful 3,000-square-foot holiday-themed playland lets children take pictures with Santa, try on virtual flight suits, interact with Santa’s sleigh, and participate in a snowfall dance party.From Thursday through December 24, the American Dream mega mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey is transforming part of its space into a “winter wonderland” where parents and their children can take photos with Santa for free.
Honestly, that sounds great. But equally we don’t know how believable that article really is..
With malls dying or dead, we are hard-pressed to understand how mall Santas could be thriving..
A travel back to the past
Stores began to advertise Christmas shopping in 1820, and by the 1840s, newspapers were creating separate sections for holiday advertisements, which often featured images of the newly-popular Santa Claus. In 1841, thousands of children visited a Philadelphia shop to see a life-size Santa Claus model.
In the early 1890s, the Salvation Army needed money to pay for the free Christmas meals they provided to needy families.
They began dressing up unemployed men in Santa Claus suits and sending them into the streets of New York to solicit donations. And bells have been ringing ever since.
If you are a mall Santa today, there is a good chance that you went to the Noerr Programs Corporation, an events company that trains and distributes Santas to more than 278 major malls and shopping centers across the country.
Each Noerr Santa has to pass a background check and undergo several rounds of interviews.
A real beard is required!
Since the dawning of our modern time, we have been subjected to yearly photos of Santa with our children.. sometimes they smile. Sometimes they laugh.. Sometimes they cry.
And sometimes the images look like this:
Or this
The notion of the the mall Santa was featured proudly in the movie A CHRISTMAS STORY.. and he was scary..
But with the death of malls comes the death of Claus..
Sure.. he exists in some places. But in modern America we are forced to travel far and wide for the mall Santa. And that truly is a a shame..
Santas were special through time.. as were pop culture pets.. as we see from 1988 in Pottsville when the Mall Santa was open to appearing with you pet.
Like back in the 1980s when the Fairline Village Mall had a ‘Spud McKenzie’ contest.. December 20 in 1987!! Only!! Who won!?
In 1994 long after Spud was popular, Santa still reigned at the SchuylKill Mall…
Some kids wanted Barbies.. Power Ranger.. one girl wanted her mom to remarry.
I wonder if she ever did!
X X X
But what else could be better than a Mall Santa giving away a Ford Festiva..
This happened in 1988.. a Schuylkill Mall shopper was chosen weekly from November 20 through Christmas.. A winner was chosen right near a mall Santa on December 20, 1988 at 3pm..
Who won!?
AND DID YOU REALLY WIN?
The Mall Santa did.. each and every year.
Until our modern time..
The dying mall santa.. we will miss thee..
