Spirit Halloween will not just disappear into the ether the minute the clock strikes midnight on November 1. Nope! They’re sticking around just a little longer.
The temporary retail chain — which has mysteriously popped up in empty storefronts around the country every fall for years now — will be turning in its pumpkins and giant skeletons for Santa hats and inflatable snowmen, the chain confirmed to People.
Ten Christmas-themed retail stores called Spirit Christmas will open around the Northeast, with some taking over current Spirit Halloweens and others opening in new locations, where guests will be greeted by a giant winking Santa Claus.
This is amazing news for us people who don’t do jump scares and creepy clowns but will never turn down an opportunity to buy a new Christmas mug or animatronic elf.
The new stores will also have a real-life version of Santa for meet-and-greet opportunities.
“Each store offers a unique shopping experience, brimming with a vast assortment of holiday décor, apparel, inflatables, gifts, and stocking stuffers,” a spokesperson for Spirit Halloween said.
“Guests can meet Santa for their annual Christmas card photo and receive a free digital postcard featuring you and Santa,” the spokesperson continued. “Wander through the life-sized gingerbread village, where you can mail your letter to Santa at the North Pole and find out whether you’ve been naughty or nice.”
The official Spirit Christmas website also teases what the free Santa pictures — which are already available for booking — will look like, showing a family posing with the man in red as they sit among oversized presents and gingerbread houses.
The first Spirit Christmas store in Mays Landing, New Jersey, is set to open its doors on Oct. 18, while the other nine locations are slated to open in early November.
Looks like those who live on the East Coast are the lucky ones who will get to experience the first set of Sprit Christmas stores.
New Jersey will see several more of the festive mall pop-ups, with locations opening in Marlton, Brick and Woodbridge. In New York, Spirit Christmas pop-ups will also be opening in Albany, Bohemia, and Poughkeepsie.
Locations are also scheduled to open in Erie, Pennsylvania; Waterford, Connecticut and Dartmouth, Massachusetts.
