There’s no doubt that Christmas will look a bit different in 2020. Will we be able to see our families? Are all the Christmas events cancelled entirely?
For those lucky to be living in Port Macquarie, Australia, plans have been put in place to ensure kids don’t go without a chat with Santa, and parents can still get funny photos of their babies screaming at the sight of the man in the big red suit!
This is Port Macquarie’s story of gratitude to photographer Meredith Bauer and Santa, who are keeping Christmas magical for their community this year.
According to an article by ABC News, ‘The Santa-on-the-beach Christmas photo sessions were started in the region by Port Macquarie photographer, Meredith Bauer almost 10 years ago.’ With new social distancing restrictions in place, it wasn’t looking as if the local tradition would be able to go ahead this year, leaving many parents and children feeling disappointed.
But Bauer was not going to be defeated easily and spent months working hard to ensure the Santa-on-the-beach pictures could go ahead in some capacity. She claimed ‘It’s very much been a project we’ve been working on since April, coming up with various scenarios of how to handle COVID-19, depending on how it would be at the time of going live with our shoot.’ With uncertainty about the state of our nation by Christmas, solid plans could not be put in place, but with incredible dedication, Bauer has come up with a winning solution.
She explained how they were able to create a setting that complied with social distancing rules, whist still having the desired photographed outcome. ‘We’ve had to get very creative with our props to maintain social distancing and keep everybody safe and have fun at the same time. Usually, we have Santa on a bench, and everyone sits on a bench with Santa, this year we’ve gone for a table setting, so it’s almost like a little picnic at the beach with Santa.’
Imagine if we all used our creativities and found ways to safely enjoy our holiday season this year. Christmas will be different in 2020, but it doesn’t mean it has to be any less magical. Putting the health and safety of our communities first is so important for this upcoming holiday season.
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