Colony Square Mall Shares Plans for Santa Claus

ZANESVILLE, OH – The fate of the mall Santa is up in the air this holiday season. With COVID-19 cases rising rapidly, Old Saint Nick may have to stay in the North Pole this year.

Colony Square Mall Leasing and Marketing Manager Sherri Velliquette said Santa will only visit if Muskingum County has downgraded to Alert Level Orange or Yellow. She explained how this year may look different compared to years past.

“We have worked very closely with the photography company and Santa to keep him safe as well as our guests safe. So the social distancing protocol that’s in place this year is of course lines are 6 feet apart, people have to stand 6 feet apart, we’re encouraging reservations to see Santa to help make the process a lot smoother and safer as well. And you can look for that link on our Colony Square Mall website to go ahead and schedule your reservation.”

Santa will be socially distanced from families who do come to see him. In the case that Muskingum County remains at Alert Level Red, Santa Claus will go virtual!

“The virtual Santa is an online Santa. So you’ll just go online there’s several different options. You can have a personal experience with Santa, you can also create your own photos, you can photocrop your dog taking his picture with Santa, you can photocrop your family with Santa. So it’s all, we’ve all tried to think of everything to make this a very safe experience but still enjoy the holiday.”

Velliquette is determined to have a merry atmosphere for the holidays and encourages shoppers to take holiday selfies at the brand new Santa set in the mall.