I received product/compensation from Macerich in exchange for sharing my honest opinion.

One memory I have of my childhood is our annual trip to see Santa Claus. It was pretty simple back then but fun nevertheless. Today though there is a whole new experience that families can enjoy while visiting Santa Claus.

HGTV and Macerich Shopping Centers have teamed up to bring a decked out “Santa HQ” that both young and young at heart can enjoy. HGTV’s Santa HQ adds a tech aspect to the traditional visit with Santa Claus by allowing visitors to experience an interactive holiday extravaganza.

Each of the 15 Macerich Shipping Centers located in California, Arizona, Chicago, Metro New York and Washington D.C., has a whole array of holiday experiences to check out.

Some of the fun to be had at Santa HQ:

• Traditional photo-op with Santa Claus
• Elfie Selfie: Where visitors can take a selfie and star in their own holiday video

• Elf-Ray Vision: Visitors can explore Santa’s observatory through an app on smartphones or tablets that triggers a series of augmented reality experiences at multiple locations. Basically surprises pop out of the walls and such as you view through the app!

• Naughty or Nice Meters: Visitors get “scanned” to see which list they made.

I visited the Fashion Outlets of Chicago Santa HQ and my kids had a blast. I admit I thought the whole Santa observatory set up was pretty amazing. From the design to all the tech packed inside, it made visiting Santa that much cooler.

Want to spend less time waiting in line for Santa?

Okay so I admit I wouldn’t have minded waiting for Santa because of all the fun we had inside, guests can select the date and time of their photos session by making a reservation online at www.santa-hq.com/reservations. The reservation system allows guests to prepay for their package as well. There is even an opt-in text functionality to provide reminders about their Santa photo session reservation.

Check out a Santa HQ near you!

For more information about Santa HQ and a list of locations visit https://santa-hq.com.