Christmas Is Saved By Snow Globe Santa Experience

Richmond, Virginia—While the COVID-19 pandemic freezes other public plans, the Snow Globe Santa™ experience maintains our beloved holiday magic through the perfect paring of a new book, Snow Globe Santa, along with innovative snow globe-inspired safety barriers. Already on the radar of the New York Times and fresh off the heels of exclusive interviews with CNBC and NBC, first-time author Kathryn Burgess of Richmond, Virginia, is ready to share her brilliant solution with the world—just in the (Saint) nick of time.

As a professional photographer of eight years, Kathryn Burgess is used to capturing holiday magic. After experiencing mounting cancelations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Burgess was determined to save one experience in 2020—a child’s yearly visit to Santa Claus.

A military spouse and mother to three young children, Burgess authored her first children’s book, Snow Globe Santa (Atlantic Publishing Group), as a way for parents, caregivers, and educators alike to regain control over the narrative affecting how and when children will

encounter Santa this year. She took her idea one step further by providing the physical barriers —Snow Globe Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)—to mitigate COVID risk and maintain proper distancing during these Santa experiences.

In her book, Burgess—who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from the University of Iowa —spins a whimsical holiday tale in which Santa becomes trapped inside one of his elves’ beautiful new snow globes. Happily, all ends well for the man in the red suit and the children who long to see him.

For her Snow Globe PPEs, Kathryn partnered with Alvantor, Bella Design Group (designer of many acrylic shields for this season), and Bubble Tents to provide three options for event holders who wish to maintain CDC compliance at their next holiday gathering. The first, a 10’ pop-up globe, can be set-up with ease for any Santa experience—but it’s ideal for Santa brunches, community visits, and smaller Santa experiences. The second, an acrylic snow globe patrician, is ideal for shopping malls and locations with frequent visitors. The third option is a show-stopping 10’ inflatable bubble tent that serves large outdoor or drive-thru events with ease.

Kathryn’s thoughtful and thorough “book and barrier” idea has created ripples among the publishing community since its first introduction. Ever since the Snow Globe Santa story was picked-up and expedited to press by Atlantic Publishing Group, public interest in Kathryn’s Snow Globe Santa experience has snowballed: especially among Santa-based talent communities such as the International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas, the Peachtree Santas, and more. In a recent interview with the New York Times, Stephen Arnold, President of the International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas, lauded Kathryn’s book and PPE concept as a way to keep the holiday spirit alive and keep Santas working amid the pandemic (Friedman, G. and Maheshwari, S., September 2, 2020).

From Kathryn:

These past few months have been hard on us all. Our days have been plagued with negativity, cancellations, illness, and fear. This past summer, I began thinking about the upcoming holiday season, and I quickly realized the likelihood of visiting Santa with our children would be slim-to-none. I have three little kids that won't easily understand why we can't go visit Santa, and I refuse to default yet again to cancelling plans.

Modern-day Santa can be traced back to the late 18th century. This means he has survived the bubonic plague, the Spanish flu, and smallpox—to name a few. Santa shouldn’t be stopped by COVID-19. No, the man who flies around the world with nine magical reindeer to visit each child's home in a single night does not need to relinquish

his route due to COVID-19.

In order to provide the Santa Claus experience this coming year—and to provide a safe experience, at that—we need to get creative. Snow Globe Santa is a unique and fun storybook that creatively explains why this upcoming holiday season will look different. This passion project will serve families of small children and the communities in which they live by maintaining the magic true to the character of Santa.