JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla — It's officially the holiday season. With COVID-19 cases on the rise, there are some traditions that may not happen this year such as sitting on Santa's lap.
Many families in Jacksonville visit Santa at the libraries in December, but this year he and Mrs. Claus will join families over Zoom.
“You’re going to get to listen to a story from Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus," said Chris Boivin with Jacksonville Public Libraries. "When you register for this event, get your child’s name in there and Santa will read your child’s name right during the broadcast.”
You can sign up for the Zoom with Santa here. It is sponsored by Yelp and there is a suggested donation of $10 for the Jacksonville Library Foundation to help fund future events. The event is on Dec. 13.
There will still be events on the first coast where you can see Santa in person.
Visit WhereIsSanta.com and you can track where he will be in your town with Cherry Hill Programs. Their spokesperson says all of their Santa events will be contactless and Santa will wear a mask and have his temperature taken.
Santa is also making house calls this year. St. Johns County Parks and Rec Department is hosting Phone Calls with Santa. Santa will make his phone calls between 6 and 7:30 p.m. nightly from December 8 through 10. Register your child by December here under the special events tab.
Santa can be hard to reach this time of year, but he took some time to talk with First Coast News.
“It’s been a difficult year. Fortunately up in the North Pole, we haven’t had any coronavirus because I don’t let the elves out in the public anyways because the little guys would scare everybody," Santa said.
Here's to hoping the big man can bring some cheer to 2020.