At the Westfield Topanga mall, there's a brand-new Santa Experience and the big man in red came to Woodland Hills Saturday to kick off its opening.
Santa, preceded by carolers, made his way through the mall and down a spiral staircase to welcome dozens of children and their parents to the new display.
On the mall's first floor, below the dining area, are now—and will be through Christmas—a giant walk-through ornament and Christmas tree featuring custom digital interactive experiences including a touch-screen game for kids and a photo booth where they can create and send holiday e-cards.
The attraction is sponsored by Kindle and Kindle Fire and Paperwhite tablets are available for children to play and experiment with. The tablets have been loaded with family-friendly holiday movies, television shows, songs, magazines, books, audiobooks, apps and games.
Along with Santa, there were also appearances by Sonia Rao of television's The Voice, season one, and Dingle, a character in DreamWork's new movie Rise of the Guardians, due in theaters soon.
Santa came early—before Thanksgiving, even—in order to accommodate all the people who want to take photos with him, according to Westfield marketing director Anthony Sion.
Santa will be at the mall and available for photos from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday through Nov. 21.
From Nov. 22 through Dec. 8, his hours will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Then, from Dec. 10-22, hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday hours vary and Christmas eve hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
See the calendar in the photo section or check the Westfield Topanga website for daily hours.
