Masked up Santa at Ballantynes Department Store. Photo / George Heard
Parents and children aged 12 years and older will be required to wear a mask in this year's Santa photo at Christchurch's Ballantynes Store.
The new rules are in place this Christmas with the rules around the delta outbreak of Covid-19.
All staff at Santa's grotto are required to wear masks and to be fully vaccinated including Santa himself.
It is the first time masks have been made mandatory for the annual Christmas photo.
Last year New Zealand was at alert level 1 and masks were not commonly used or a requirement for shopping malls or department stores.
This year, like last year, children will not be able to touch or sit on Santa's knee and will instead be seated at the front of Santa's chair or to the side.
Under the new Covid-19 protection framework, shoppers who enter the store or the Grotto will be required to scan in while visitors to the hospitality outlets and hairdressing salons will need to present their My Vaccine Certificate from December 3.
This year there was no grand opening of Ballantyne's famous Christmas window in the centre of Christchurch due to Covid restrictions on the number of people allowed to gather for an event.
Instead, the ten-themed windows "A Sprinkle of Christmas Magic" was quietly revealed over the weekend.
The windows span a distance of ninety metres over Colombo St and Cashel Mall and masks and vaccines not required to view the window from outside.
The contentious bill will have its first reading in Parliament this afternoon.