Meet Santa at Gurnee Mills

Children can visit and be photographed with Santa from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily through Dec. 24, in the Dining Pavilion at Gurnee Mills. Santa's schedule varies, so check for alternate dates and times at gurneemills.com/santa-is-waiting. Gurnee Mills also provides children with special needs and their families with an opportunity to enjoy a carefully managed Santa photo experience through the Caring Santa program. Caring Santa will occur Dec. 6 at 9:30 to 11 a.m., before the mall opening. Guests must register in advance at simon.com/caringsanta. The popular Pet Photo Night returns to the Simon Santa Photo Experience at Gurnee Mills on Dec. 13 from 7 to 9 p.m. Pet Photo nights are hosted after regular mall closing and the set gets an extensive cleaning after the event to remove any potential risk to allergy sufferers. Reservations can be secured at simon.com/petphoto. Gurnee Mills is also announcing enhanced holiday season opening hours to accommodate the needs of busy holiday shoppers. To kick off the holiday shopping season, Gurnee Mills will be open from 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Thursday, Nov. 26, to 1 a.m., then reopen at 6 a.m. on Black Friday, Nov. 27, and stay open until 9:30 p.m.