Seeing Santa safely

A salve at the end of a tumultuous year

Seeing Santa is for many families a holiday tradition that goes back generations. It’s the annual snapshot that year-after-year marks the passage of time, and a reminder that children believe in magic, and that a jolly bearded man can make their wishes come true.

But it’s Christmas in 2020, and everything is different. Santa sits behind plexiglass, or in a life-sized snow globe. And then, of course, there’s Zoom Santa.

Associated Press photographers set out to capture the socially distanced, decidedly 2020 Santa visits taking place across the United States.

Much of the tradition is altered this year. Sitting on Santa’s lap is out. There is no whispering of wish lists into his ear. Getting in to see Santa this year often requires making an appointment and temperature checks upon arrival. Many stores, from Macy’s and Nieman Marcus to smaller venues around the country, have opted for virtual visits.

Conversations with Santa this year, inevitably, include the virus.

Kids ask if Santa will wear a mask when he visits their homes on Christmas Eve. He asks in turn if they’ve been naughty or nice — and good about washing their hands with water AND soap.

Some children have lost parents, grandparents or other loved ones. They miss their schools and friends.

Yet the Christmas spirit endures.

“It’s different this year, but it’s still magical,” said Larry Jefferson, who has converted a room in his suburban Dallas home to Santa’s workshop where he conducts virtual visits. “The children see me on the

screen, they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, Santa Claus is talking to me from the North Pole.”

Perhaps, seeing Santa is the salve families needed at the end of this tumultuous year. Despite all that has changed, Santa still looks pretty much the same and restores a feeling of comfort in an otherwise turbulent time.

“I didn’t think there was going to be Santa this year. We were super excited to find out we could see him,” said Tarah Peargin, a California mother of 8-year-old twins William and Payton.

Like every year, the twins dressed up in the outfits they will wear on Christmas. For William, a red dress shirt, a waistcoat and tie with pinstriped dress pants; Payton wore a velvety red dress. They went to visit Santa’s Wonderland inside a Bass Pro Shop in Rancho Cucamonga, California, near Los Angeles.

William covered up with a plastic visor, and Payton a purple face mask. The idea that Santa, too, needed protective equipment didn’t seem so unusual.

“They took it in stride,” said their mom.

It was a fitting final photo for the family’s annual album.

“It kind of sums up 2020.”

(The Oklahoman/Doug Hoke) A young girl and boy visit with the Santa in a snow globe during Automobile Alley’s Lights on Broadway in Oklahoma City.

(AP/LM Otero) Larry Jefferson portrays Santa Claus and visits via computer with Raquel Anaya and her cousins Lexi and Luna Reyes from his home in Duncanville, Texas.

(AP/John Locher) Santa Claus actors Larry Hansen (from left), Charlie Bush and Bill Sandeen wear masks as a precaution against coronavirus while waiting before the opening of a Santa drive-thru selfie station at Glittering Lights in Las Vegas.

(AP/Lynne Sladky) Santa Claus adjusts his protective face shield between visits from children and their families at Bass Pro Shops in Miami.

(AP/Ashley Landis) William Peargin (left) and Payton Peargin, both 8, pose for a socially distant photo with Santa Claus, who sits behind a sheet of plexiglass at Bass Pro Shop in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

(AP/Charles Rex Arbogast) A young boy watches as a reflected Santa waves while visiting Santa’s Garage on top of a parking deck near Soldier Field in Chicago.

(AP/Ashley Landis) Santa Claus waves to shoppers from a safe distance at the top level of a trolly at The Grove shopping center in Los Angeles. Santa visits were canceled due to the spread of covid-19.

(AP/Seth Wenig) LaToya Booker cleans a transparent barrier between visitors for Santa at a Bass Pro Shop in Bridgeport, Conn.

(AP/John Locher) Bill Sandeen, dressed as Santa Claus, wears a mask as a precaution against coronavirus while waiting before the opening of a Santa selfie station at Glittering Lights, a holiday lights display in Las Vegas.

(AP/Ted S. Warren) Santa, portrayed by Dan Kemmis, talks to a family wearing masks as he sits inside a protective bubble in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood. Kemmis has been Santa in past years, but he started his daily appearances early this year and added his “snow globe” tent due to the coronavirus pandemic.

(AP/Seth Wenig) Gracelynn Blumenfeld, 8, visits with Santa through a transparent barrier at a Bass Pro Shop in Bridgeport, Conn.

(AP/John Locher) Charlie Bush, dressed as Santa Claus, wears a face shield as a precaution against coronavirus as he greets people waiting in their cars at Glittering Lights, a drive-through holiday lights display in Las Vegas.

(AP/Ashley Landis) Santa Claus wears a face shield while visiting with children at Bass Pro Shop in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.