Many have seen them growing up, parading around in bright red hats, with jolly smiles and big white beards. Some have even waited in long lines just to get pictures with them, whether through the force of their parents or by choice. He makes his grand appearance once a year, ready to determine whether you have been naughty or nice – mall Santa.

A mall Santa is a person who dresses up as Santa Claus to entertain children. These jolly humans are often found in shopping malls or large department stores. Mall Santas have been around for over a century, with the first one appearing in the 1800s.

There is a slight debate about who the first mall Santa was, but there is no argument about the monumental figures who paved the way for many Santas to come.

Here is a timeline and a brief history of mall Santas.

1861: Santa makes his debut visiting children in department stores at Macy’s on 34th Street in New York. This continued for 159 years straight, all the way until the COVID-19 pandemic hit, which affected the 2020 and 2021 holiday seasons for Santas in Macy’s.

1890: James Edgar, also known as Colonel Jim, has the idea to get a Santa costume tailored and fitted, to greet families and children with joyous cheer at his department store in Boston. According to ClickAmericana.com, many witnesses described seeing Santa for the first time in person as “a dream come true.” Although this was a spontaneous decision meant to last only a day, word quickly spread that Santa was at the local department store, and by the end of the week children were lined up outside the store with their families impatiently waiting to see and talk to Santa. This was monumental for Santa history, as Edgar set an ongoing trend for Santa meet-and-greets.

1891: Due to the popularity of Santa in previous years, stores across the country began to adopt the same idea, with Santa appearing in nearly every major department store across America.

1937: Charles W Howard Santa Claus School located in Midland, Michigan is established as a school on a mission to “make a better Santa” by providing a three-day crash course. Still running, the school teaches students how to be a successful Santa by covering topics such as professional Santa attire, the art of being a true Santa and more.

1943: Pictures with Santa officially became a hot commodity. During a Santa meet-and-greet at the Seattle-based department store Fredrick and Nelson, Arthur French, a staff photographer at the local Seattle newspaper was so touched at the sight of children eagerly meeting Santa, that he decided to snap a picture of the moment. This spur-of-the-moment decision changed history and popularized taking pictures with Santa. French began charging people $1 per picture, successfully making $10,000 in December 1943. Three years later in 1946, French quit the newspaper he was working at and launched his own photography business.

All of these ingredients made for the perfect recipe when malls became popularized in the 1950s, and it was soon evident that shopping centers were the perfect place to advertise Santa. The rest is history.