NJ Dept of Health: Keep Your Kids Off Santa’s Lap

2020 has been one tough year for raising kids, hasn't it, parents? Between trying to make sense of the whole virtual learning thing and dealing with cancellations of junior's sporting events, family vacations and thanksgiving dinner with the grandparents, we have definitely entered the "no fun zone" this year.

Well, stand back, because here come the Covid Christmas restrictions, intended to keep us safe, but also squeezing the last ounce of normalcy out of the kids' Christmas celebration.

As New Jersey announced Monday that it will sharply reduce the number of people allowed to gather outdoors and will ban youth and high school sports for the rest of the year in an attempt to combat the steadily rising rates of Covid-19 infections, Edward Lifshitz, medical director of the state Department of Health, also put the kibosh on the kids sitting on Santa's lap this year....

"And while malls can still have Santa Claus appearances with appointments, masks, time limits and social distancing, children should not be permitted to sit on Santa's lap...It is strongly recommended that people consider alternatives to visiting Santa at indoor locations, such as virtual visits or outdoor social distanced visits and photos with Santa"

The crackdown comes amid a surge in infections in the state, with New Jersey now routinely posting more than 4,000 new cases a day, triple the number of people hospitalized as in October and a death toll at a 6-month high.

Source: New Jersey Department of Health