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Community Corner

Santa Photo Experience to Create More Magical Memories at The Shops at Mission Viejo

Eager children and their families can once again experience the magic of the holiday season with a visit to the Simon® Santa Photo Experience at The Shops at Mission Viejo. Children can be photographed with Santa through December 24 in his winter wonderland, on the lower level near Nordstrom.
Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/480318018752360/ for a complete list of dates and times.

The Shops at Mission Viejo will also be the place for Santa to greet special needs children and their families via the popular Caring Santa program.

The presenting sponsor for the 2013 Simon Santa Photo Experience is Microsoft retail store. 

ABC Family, Universal and Gymboree are associate sponsors this year.

The Microsoft retail store offers a curated assortment of products to fit anyone’s needs and budgets, including Microsoft Surface Pro 2, Windows 8.1, Microsoft Office 365, Xbox, a variety of Windows Phone 8 devices, and other Microsoft devices and accessories. Microsoft retail store associates are readily available to answer questions, make recommendations, and help with PC setups, tune-ups, and other services, so customers can walk out the door with a product that’s ready to go.

ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas is sponsoring the Simon Santa Photo Experience for the ninth consecutive year. 25 Days of Christmas is the holiday viewing destination for holiday classics, blockbuster movies and original holiday programming, December 1 – 25. Visitors to the Simon Santa Photo Experience will receive a 25 Days of Christmas programming guide and scented holiday ornament.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment is celebrating the highly-anticipated release of Despicable Me 2, available on Digital HD on November 26 and Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, and DVD on December 10. Come visit the Simon Santa Photo Experience and pose for photos with the Minions standee while watching highlights from the movie.

Returning again as a sponsor this year is Gymboree. The Gymboree Corporation is a specialty retailer operating stores selling high-quality apparel and accessories for children under the Gymboree, Gymboree Outlet, Janie and Jack, and Crazy 8 brands.

“One of the great traditions of holiday shopping at The Shops at Mission Viejo is the annual family visit to the Simon Santa Photo Experience,” said Patsy Sanquist, director of mall marketing at The Shops at Mission Viejo. “I know Santa can’t wait to greet children bringing him their holiday wishes.”

The Noerr Programs, operators of the Santa Photo Experience at The Shops at Mission Viejo, is sharing the heart of Santa online this holiday season, through the “BeMerrySanta®” program where families can keep up with Santa’s daily musings on his Facebook page at facebook.com/BeMerrySanta or Twitter @BeMerrySanta. Parents can also input their child’s good deed into Santa’s Magical Badge Generator and then print out their child’s customized badge, or show it to Santa on a smartphone or tablet during their visit. 

Guests to every Noerr set will have the opportunity to share Santa’s spirit of generosity by making a donation via The Noerr Programs to U.S. rural children in need through Save the Children, a 75-year-old non-profit organization. To create even more magic for donors, The Noerr Programs will offer a chance for a lucky family of four to win a trip to Orlando, Florida.

Caring Santa is a special event dedicated to families that have children with special needs, providing a subdued environment to visit Santa. Many steps are taken to reduce sensory triggers, creating a more comforting environment for their magical visit with Santa.

The Caring Santa event at The Shops at Mission Viejo will be held on December 8 at 7:30 a.m. and reservations are required. Because the mall is closed at this hour, guests are asked to enter the mall through The Cheesecake Factory entrance. The program is guided by AbilityPath, an online support organization serving the special needs community for over 90 years. Reservations can be secured at www.caringsanta.com.

For more information, visit The Shops at Mission Viejo on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ShopsAtMissionViejo, Twitter at https://twitter.com/ShopsMV or Instagram at http://instagram.com/ShopsMV/

About The Shops at Mission Viejo
Among the 150 stores and restaurants at The Shops at Mission Viejo, this indoor mall features Nordstrom, H&M, Macy's, Apple, Sephora, and The Cheesecake Factory. Home to Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour, Paradise Bakery and Microsoft, recognized by the OC Register's 2013 People's Choice Awards for "best ice cream," "best cookie," and "best tech store" respectively, The Shops at Mission Viejo serves many nearby communities such as Ladera Ranch, Rancho Santa Margarita, Coto de Caza, San Juan Capistrano and the city of Mission Viejo. The Shops at Mission Viejo is conveniently located at the intersection of the I-5 and Crown Valley Parkway in the city of Mission Viejo. With over 150 stores and restaurants, The Shops at Mission Viejo is south Orange County's main shopping destination. For a map and store listings, as well as directions, events and job listings, visit http://www.simon.com/mall/the-shops-at-mission-viejo or call 949-364-1771.

About Simon Property Group
Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE: SPG) is an S&P 100 company and a leader in the global retail real estate industry. The Company currently owns or has an interest in 326 retail real estate properties in North America and Asia comprising 241 million square feet. We are headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and employ approximately 5,500 people in the U.S. For more information, visit the Simon Property Group website at www.simon.com

About Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is a part of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, world-renowned theme parks, and a suite of leading Internet-based businesses. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporate.

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