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People of all ages converged on the former Maurice’s space at the Watertown Mall to take in this year’s version of Santaland put together by the Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber revived the decades-old Watertown tradition a year ago, hosting Santaland on the second floor of the Chamber/Watertown Development Company/Visit Watertown building on Kemp Avenue. While the public flocked to that space to revisit Santaland last year, Chamber President and CEO Tim Sheehan knew the area wasn’t ideal. It was cramped and required climbing stairs or using the elevator, and it didn’t allow for ideal flow if visitors.
This year, however, the mall space is large enough to allow more exhibits, more displays, more people and more fun.
Hordes of Christmas lovers attended opening day on Friday, which kicked off with a ribbon cutting at 4 p.m. More than 400 people toured Santaland on opening day.
Santaland features dozens of decorated trees, Santa’s office, Mrs. Clause’s kitchen, an enormous Christmas Village display, a huge igloo made entirely of empty one-gallon milk jugs, a gingerbread house, and a North Pole control center with multiple computer screens tracking weather conditions for Santa’s Christmas Eve flight.
There are even stalls for some of Santa’s reindeer and numerous costumed Christmas characters roaming around, including the Grinch.
The finale, of course, is meeting the Jolly Old Elf himself. And every child went home with a free age-appropriate book.
Santaland will be open at the Watertown Mall’s west end on Thursdays and Fridays from 4 to 7 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through December 21. Admission is free.
Sheehan said more displays will be added to Santaland throughout the month, so everyone is encouraged to visit often.
