“We caught it in July and got it together,” he explained. Everyone has a childhood memory of visiting Santa Claus and reading off their wishlist of toys they hope to find under the tree come Christmas morning. Copyright 2020 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Along with a long list of helpers, over 100 of them, she’s been putting together a project to keep the holiday cheer alive this winter. “We realized it was going to be enormously expensive to put together something of the magnitude of what we wanted to give the children, a four-layered program,” she said. New York, where Macy's is headquartered, was one of the earliest cities to be badly hit by the pandemic, but has bounced back significantly and is seem by many as a model for covid response in a densely-populated city. The company will instead set up a virtual experience that will allow up to three kids at a time to see Santa on a video conference. NEW YORK (AP) — Macy’s said Santa Claus won’t be greeting kids at its flagship New York store this year due to the coronavirus, interrupting a holiday tradition started nearly 160 years ago. Macy's also recently announced a reduced-capacity, mostly-virtual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, marking the first time in generations that the parade won't wind through crowded Manhattan streets. “Santa is safe and he's been in quarantine at the North Pole, so the children can be absolutely sure that on Christmas Eve if they are in bed sleeping, that Santa will come to their house,” Mesco said. More than a quarter of a million people come to see Santa at Macy’s in New York each year, the company said, making it hard to create a safe environment during a pandemic. Santa also won’t be showing up at its Chicago and San Francisco stores, which have similar Santalands. For the first time in almost 160 years, Santa Claus will not be appearing at the Macy's department store chain. That’s where Susen Mesco, founder of the Professional Santa Claus School, comes in. FILE - Santa Claus waves during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Nov. 28, 2019, in New York. Macy’s also ditched a one-night firework spectacle on the Fourth of July, and held smaller unannounced firework shows to stop people from gathering to watch. Mesco has been training Santa Claus and his team since the 1980s. Santa KJ and his wife Carol Sherman already had COVID-19 once. For the first time in almost 160 years, Santa Claus will not be appearing at the Macy's department store chain. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, File), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Furniture Fair Power Pack Feed Our Children. Macy’s will be offering a free online experience on its website at the end of November, where families can play games, get a virtual tour of Santa’s workshop and take a selfie with Santa. Copyright 2018 ComicBook.com. “My day usually begins around 6 a.m. and ends around 4 a.m. We are doing editing and polishing and the final touches,” she said. All rights reserved. By creating an account, you verify that you are at least 13 years of age, and have read and agree to the Comicbook.com Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, By Russ Burlingame But the decision by Macy’s differs from big mall owners, which will still go ahead with in-person Santa visits by banning kids from sitting on his lap and making sure they stay six feet away from him. Instead, floats, performers and giant cartoon balloons and will be filmed for TV in front of the Herald Square store in New York. But one group is creating something special for families. Mesco isn’t letting the Grinch steal Christmas this year, so they're working around the clock to build a website filled with hours of videos and family fun. Macy’s said Santa Claus won’t be greeting kids at its flagship New York store this year due to the coronavirus, interrupting a holiday tradition started nearly 160 years ago. Macy's said Santa Claus won't be greeting kids at its flagship New York store this year due to the coronavirus, interrupting a holiday tradition started nearly 160 years ago. Earlier this month, New York Comic Con -- which typically takes place at the Javits Center in Manhattan in early October -- also went virtual. Macy's said Santa Claus won't be greeting kids at its flagship New York store this year due to the coronavirus, interrupting a holiday tradition started nearly 160 years ago. However, Macy's said the jolly old man will still appear at the end of the televised Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. “It gives you a different perspective on what the year’s going to be like, and children need to be protected. The pandemic has forced Macy’s to tweak other holiday traditions. We need to be protected.”. The yuletide tradition will be skipped this year amid concerns that it would be almost impossible to socially distance from kids who need to sit on Santa's lap. And while photos with Santa have been a big moneymaker for years, this year will see selfies with the jolly old elf, which Macy's says families can download immediately. “We’ve really poured our hearts into this, and we’re so proud of what we’ve come up with,” she said. Before taking a picture with the jolly old man, crowds walk in tight quarters through a maze-like Santaland that’s filled with Christmas trees, running toy trains and elves in green costumes. Macy's said Santa Claus won't be greeting kids at its flagship New York store this year due to the coronavirus, interrupting a holiday tradition started nearly 160 years ago. In order to deter crowds, its annual Thanksgiving Day parade won’t go through its usual route through Manhattan. It is not entirely clear, but the phrasing makes it sound like the downloads will be free. Holiday cheer may look a little different this year. Macy’s has been using Santa Claus to draw crowds to its New York store since the early 1860s, calling itself “The Home of Santa Claus” for decades. She was recently inducted into the International Santa Claus Hall of Fame. The Macy's Santa will be a part of that parade, even in its covid-friendly form. The virtual experience will take place online, from November 27 through December 24. But this was something new. “We’ve put a lot into this.”. And Macy’s had a starring role in the 1947 film “Miracle on 34th Street,” where a girl discovers the real Santa inside the store. Holiday cheer may look a little different this year. FILE - Santa Claus waves during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Nov. 28, 2019, in New York. Santa’s helpers are going virtual to protect kids and Santa Claus due to COVID-19. But he will still appear at the end of the televised Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, the company said. Still, there are already malls who are planning to have their own in-person Santa Claus visits. - October 22, 2020 08:21 pm EDT. With the coronavirus still raging, stores and malls are having to rework their typical holiday strategy, which had been to pack as many people through its doors as possible. Given the history and prestige of the Macy's Santa Claus, it's likely that this move will signal a broader trend among retailers and other institutions that typically have seasonal Santa performers. Walmart, for example, is holding its Black Friday deals over four weeks, instead of one day. But the cost of Christmas cheer wasn’t free for Mesco. “The trend in the industry has gone to the virtual side," she said. It's all set to launch at the beginning of November. “Moving to a virtual engagement will safely bring the magic of Santa Claus to children of all ages this year,” Macy’s said in a statement to The Associated Press. More than a quarter of a “Learning and singing and sharing and doing crafts and making cookies and learning hot cocoa recipes and seeing Santa's fire engine,” Mesco said.