The holidays can be a tough time. Family, that you only see on holidays, coming in and spending extended periods of time with you, present buying, Holiday parties, you name it it’s stressful.

For many, the holidays also means going to see Santa Claus in a mall.

Author Mark Chalifoux, on The Dad website, writes:

Taking your kids to meet Santa is a wholesome family tradition. You get to drive to an always-crowded suburban mall, spend 10 minutes circling for a parking spot, wait in a long line to meet Santa, and then take a picture of your kid crying when he comes face to face with the most magical person in their world. It really is pretty special.

This experience is daunting for anyone with kids. But it can be much harder for families with kids who are on the Autism Spectrum.

In malls across the country, Autism Speaks is making it easier for children with Autism see Santa in a calm environment. This is an example of a partnership between a great nonprofit and businesses who gets it.

Autism Speaks made visiting Santa a more enjoyable experience for everyone.

This example of thinking out of the box is a great example of how businesses can get people in the mall to see an attraction like Santa, but without the stress and bad memories. This brings in a segment of the population who would might otherwise skip the situation all together.

So it’s a win/win. The family gets the memories with Santa and the mall gets people who are really appreciative in their establishment to then spend more time there and possibly spend money.

What do you think? Post you thoughts below.

Image Credit: Mike Arney on Unsplash