Santa now a big entertainment business

Once a gimmick used to lure shoppers to their stores, mall Santas have evolved into an entertainment business all their own.

Professional photo packages, high-tech entertainment, adjacent gift shops and an option to reserve a time for a small fee usually means a family will cough up at least $40 to see Santa, often more.

While some suburban parents find today's Santa business to be a sad departure from their childhood experiences, most embrace the modern updates. They're happy to spend the money if it means saving time and avoiding long lines with their small children.

“It's worth it,” said Stephanie Yelton, 30, of Aurora, who reserved her family's photo time with Santa at Oakbrook Center last week. “We both work, so we don't have time to wait in line ... and here, they make it fun before you see Santa. It was more entertaining for me and my husband this way.”

Years ago, you might wait in a boring line and leave with a free Polaroid photo in a paper frame with the mall's logo on it.

“When I was a kid, you just went and sat on his lap, got a free picture and then an elf gave you a candy cane. That was it,” said Connor Hadaway, 21, of Lake Zurich. “Back then, it was much more simple.”

Now, seeing Santa at the mall is a full-fledged entertainment attraction. At Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, video screens featuring the “Minions” movie line the entrance. There's a sparkly, elaborate set in the center of the mall. Professional photographers take digital photos and present them in a variety of different designs.

Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee and Carpentersville holds special dates where you can bring your pet for photos. And seeing Santa at Oakbrook Center is totally high-tech. “Adventure to Santa,” created by DreamWorks, is housed in a stand-alone building in the center of the mall made with moving video screens and music.

To reserve a spot, you have to purchase a photo package between $40 and $74. You enter the house and wind through decorated rooms, where costume-wearing assistants help kids practice their sleigh-driving on a Kindle, and take a sleigh ride to the North Pole featuring “Shrek” characters.

They also can decorate a gingerbread man on a computer screen, with the option of having that design transposed onto a custom gingerbread ornament for $21.99. There's a gift shop at the photo checkout counter, and a Christkindlmarkt next door.

“The Santa experience is evolving as our everyday lives are evolving,” said Suzanne Beres, Oakbrook Center's marketing manager. “It's just natural.”

Most malls allow you to see Santa at no charge if you wait in line - when there's a break between the paying customers. But you won't be allowed to take your own photos. To do that, you have to buy a photo package first.

The commercialism of seeing Santa turns some people off, even if they realize it's the way of the world today.

“The way things have changed, everything is very expensive,” said John Sullivan, 76, of Streamwood, who has worked as a Santa in the Chicago area for the past 25 years. “It is sad in a sense.”

From his years being Santa, he said very little of this matters to kids, especially those in the “magic years” of 2 to 6. Earlier this month, Sullivan did a Santa appearance at a sparsely decorated spot on Chicago's Montrose Beach.

“The kids were totally excited, even though it wasn't inside and there were no decorations. Just a bench with a couple of trees that weren't even really decorated,” he said. “The kids just love Santa. They're more focused on Santa than the setting.”

Despite the changes, there are still many free or inexpensive ways to see and take photos with Santa this holiday.

Deer Park Town Center, or smaller malls like Ice House Mall in Barrington, have free Santas. Most local park districts, villages and community groups host free Santa events where you can take your own photos. Sullivan's website, santainchicago.com, has a compilation of Chicago-area sites.

Sullivan said malls improved the experience and found a way to make it into a business and cover some of their costs. When digital cameras came along, they had to put the kibosh on letting people take their own photos.

Does the modern-day Santa experience still bring people into the mall?

“It will,” Sullivan said. “But not nearly as much as it used to.”

John Sullivan, of Streamwood, who has worked as a Santa across the Chicago area for decades, recalls some of his most memorable visits in recent years:

Saddest: Last year, Sullivan was asked to visit a 16-year-old who was in a coma from a car accident. He was talking to the girl, but obviously, she was not responding. “I was hoping against hope that maybe she could hear something,” Sullivan said. “Her mother just seemed very, very sad. I'm sure she was remembering when her daughter used to visit Santa.”

Heartwarming: A young girl lost her grandfather right before Christmas. Before his unexpected death, he had bought a Christmas present for his granddaughter. The parents arranged in advance for Santa to give her the gift. “I said, 'Wherever your grandfather is, he's watching you right now and he still loves you and he's with you,'” he said, handing her the gift. “This is not from Santa. It's from your grandpa.”

Most requested items so far this year: Legos, Barbie dolls, Xboxes and iPads.

Stock answers: When kids ask the whereabouts of his sled and reindeer, Sullivan says, “Oh, I only bring it out on Christmas Eve.” Regardless of what they ask for, he'll tell them: “You never know what you're going to find under the tree. It's a surprise. But you'll love what you're getting.”