MAKE MAGICAL MEMORIES AT THE SIMON EXPERIENCE AT THE SHOPS AT RIVERSIDE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

Eager children and their families can experience the joy and magic of the holiday season with a visit to the Simon® Santa Photo Experience at The Shops at Riverside. Children can visit and be photographed with Santa now through Wednesday, December 24, 2014 on Level One, outside of Saks Fifth Avenue and Smashburger.

Save time, avoid the line with Santa by Appointment! Now you can reserve your magical moment with Santa online at http://simon.noerrsanta.com.

For local pet owners, the popular Pet Photo Night with Santa will occur on Tuesday, December 9 from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.

The Simon Santa Photo Experience is again sponsored by 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.

Simon’s theme for Holiday 2014 is “Spread Love.” From the love of giving to those who matter to children’s love of Santa to celebrating love through holiday festivities with family and friends. Shoppers are invited to join Simon to experience the season’s good cheer with the best of holiday shopping and entertainment.

“One of the great traditions of holiday shopping at The Shops at Riverside is the annual family visit to the Simon Santa Photo Experience,” said Andrew Morgenroth, property manager at The Shops at Riverside. “I know Santa can’t wait to greet children bringing him their holiday wishes.”

The popular Pet Photo Night returns to the Simon Santa Photo Experience at The Shops at Riverside this year. Many pet owners view their pet as an integral member of the family and are just as committed in caring for their pets as their “human” family members. Pet Photo nights are hosted after regular mall closing and the set gets an extensive cleaning following the event to remove any potential risk to allergy sufferers.

The Noerr Programs, providers of the Simon Santa Photo Experience, will be sharing the heart of Santa online this holiday season through “BeMerrySanta®”, where families can keep up with Santa’s daily musings on his Facebook page at facebook.com/BeMerrySanta, on Twitter @BeMerrySanta or Instagram at BeMerrySanta. Parents can also share their child’s good deed with Santa by going to his Magical Badge Generator at simon.bemerrysanta.com. After their child creates their badge, they can show Santa on a mobile device or print out their child’s customized badge. He will merrily reward each child for their kind act with a very special chocolate treat from Lindt, while supplies last.

Guests to every Noerr set will have another opportunity to share Santa’s heart by making a donation via The Noerr Programs to Save the Children. For nearly 100 years, this non-profit has given underserved children in the U.S. a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. Since this program began four years ago, Noerr has collected over $708,000 largely due to the generosity of Simon shoppers. Each holiday season, Noerr kicks off the fundraising campaign by visiting a Save the Children location. Each launch is connected to a Simon mall. This year, Santa will travel to the community of Union, South Carolina to spread holiday cheer for those in need.