(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Lyla Miller, 6, asks Santa Claus for a pair of skis in her stocking at MaceyÕs grocery store on Thursday, to which her father Chris Miller replied, "Well, this is the first I've heard of that." The jolly fat man also greeted Macey's guests who scheduled a grocery pickup time, Dec. 24, 2020.
For lots of kids, Christmas just isn’t Christmas if they don’t get to bend Santa’s ear and take a photo with him. But the pandemic has made many holiday activities — including traditional visits with St. Nick — challenging to do safely.
So, on the last few days before the big holiday, Santa Claus teamed with local grocer Macey’s to create a festive and safe experience: Whenever a family arrived to pick up their groceries in Murray and West Jordan, Santa himself would visit with the children and their parents. Wearing a mask over his bearded face, Kris Kringle would greet children with a jolly “ho-ho-ho” and give them a candy cane. Wearing masks themselves, some kids were shy on Christmas Eve, but others smiled starry-eyed as their parents snapped a photo.
Lyla Miller, 6, asked Santa for a pair of skis, to which her father, Chris Miller, replied, “Well, this is the first I’ve heard of that.”
“We could not be more excited to be able to offer this to the local communities around our stores. The feedback we have gotten from shoppers so far has been nothing but positive,” said Thomas Horne, Associated Food Stores e-commerce manager in a news release.