What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Christmas? For most people, that might be Santa Claus. Santa is a big part of tradition for some; a lot of families go to visit Santa before Christmas. Seeing him supposedly brings and spreads holiday cheer, but mall Santas ruin the magic of Santa and kill the Christmas spirit in children. 

Seeing multiple Santas around town throughout the day sparks confusion in the minds of children. How did he do it? How did he make it from the mall to The Corner Room faster than I did? Different Santas that look different in different locations around town start the deterioration of the Santa story. How can one man be all around town visiting all the children, even if he is magic? It just doesn’t make sense. This can confuse some children, ruining the magic of Santa and his powers and gifts.Children should be able to believe in Santa until they choose to no longer believe. No one and nothing should interfere with the magic of Santa Claus.

By the time kids get to be the high school age, they typically no longer believe in Santa. The end of this belief seems to begin in early middle school, however, it appears to be getting earlier and earlier as children are asking more questions because of the multiple Santas around town. The large amount of Santas in State College and the confusion surrounding them threaten the belief of Santa. There should either be one and only one Santa, or there should not be any, and Santa should remain a mystery. This would allow children to shape their own image of Santa that works perfectly for them, which would, in turn, make Santa even more important and special in the minds of children. Some people have never been to visit the big man. For other families, it is not Christmas without a trip to see Santa. A lot of people see no issue with mall Santas due to them not being an obvious and harmful problem, however, the underlying negative components of mall Santas decrease the holiday spirit. 

At this point, mall Santas have come to be accepted as a part of our culture. I am not saying that this needs to change or that mall Santas should not be allowed, I am simply stating that mall Santas begin the decline of the belief in Santa earlier in the lives of children. I believe they should not have become a part of society in the first place and should not have become a “norm.”