Santa at the Mall 2026: Arrival Dates, Pet Photo Nights and Sensory Sessions by Mall

Santa’s 2026 arrival dates at Simon Property Group malls start Friday, Nov. 6, at Ross Park Mall in Pittsburgh, The Shops at Mission Viejo in California and Westfarms, and run to Saturday, Nov. 21, at Newport Centre, with most staying through Dec. 24, according to each mall’s own Simon page.

No national date exists: each mall sets its own. We read 20 Simon mall pages on Nov. 5, 2026, and the table below sorts them by arrival date, with the last day, pet photo nights and Caring Santa sensory sessions where the page lists them. A one-page printable arrival list is at the end.

Santa arrival dates at 20 Simon malls, 2026

“Stated” means the page says Santa arrives on that date; “listed opening” means the page shows that opening date. A dash means the page did not post it.

Arrival	Mall and city	Basis	Last day	Pet photos	Caring Santa
Fri., Nov. 6	Ross Park Mall, Pittsburgh	Stated	Dec. 24	Not listed	Not listed
Fri., Nov. 6	The Shops at Mission Viejo, California	Stated	Dec. 24	Pets welcome in regular Santa hours	Not listed
Fri., Nov. 6	Westfarms, West Hartford	Listed opening	Dec. 24	Mon., Nov. 16, 5-7 p.m.	Not listed
Fri., Nov. 6	Walt Whitman Shops, Huntington Station	Listed opening	Not posted	Not listed	Not listed
Fri., Nov. 6	The Mall at Rockingham Park, Salem	Listed opening	Not posted	Not listed	Not listed
Sat., Nov. 7	Cherry Creek Shopping Center, Denver	Listed opening	Not posted	Not listed	Not listed
Fri., Nov. 13	South Hills Village, Pittsburgh	Arrival event, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.	Dec. 24	Not listed	Sun., Dec. 6, 10:30 a.m.
Fri., Nov. 13	The Avenues, Jacksonville	Stated	Dec. 24	Sun., Dec. 6, 8:30 p.m.	Sun., Dec. 6, 10:30 a.m.
Fri., Nov. 13	Katy Mills, Katy	Stated	Dec. 24	Sun., Nov. 29	Not listed
Sat., Nov. 14	Summit Mall, Fairlawn	Stated	Dec. 24	Sun., Dec. 6, 6:30 p.m.	Not listed
Sat., Nov. 14	Great Lakes Crossing Outlets, Auburn Hills	Stated	Dec. 24	Sun., Nov. 15 and Sun., Nov. 22	Not listed
Sat., Nov. 14	Lakeline Mall, Cedar Park	Listed opening	Dec. 24	Sun., Dec. 13, 6-8 p.m.	Not listed
Sat., Nov. 14	Woodland Hills Mall, Tulsa	Listed opening	Dec. 24	Sun., Dec. 13, 6-8 p.m.	Not listed
Sat., Nov. 14	The Empire Mall, Sioux Falls	Listed opening	Not posted	Not listed	Not listed
Fri., Nov. 20	Quaker Bridge Mall, Lawrenceville	Stated	Dec. 24	Sun., Dec. 6	Sun., Dec. 6
Fri., Nov. 20	Southdale Center, Edina	Listed opening	Dec. 24	Sun., Dec. 6 and Sun., Dec. 13, 6:30-8 p.m.	Not listed
Fri., Nov. 20	Treasure Coast Square, Jensen Beach	Listed opening	Not posted	Sun., Dec. 13, 6-7:30 p.m.	Not listed
Fri., Nov. 20	Prien Lake Mall, Lake Charles	Listed opening	Dec. 24	Sun., Nov. 29, 5:30-7 p.m.	Sun., Dec. 6, 11:30 a.m.
Sat., Nov. 21	Newport Centre, Jersey City	Listed opening	Not posted	Sun., Nov. 29, Dec. 6 and Dec. 13, 6:30-8:30 p.m.	Not listed
Not posted	Ocean County Mall, Toms River	Not on the page	Not posted	Sun., Nov. 15 and Sun., Dec. 13, 6-8 p.m.	Sun., Dec. 6, 9:30-11 a.m.

Counted from the table: five malls open Nov. 6, one Nov. 7, three Nov. 13, five Nov. 14, four Nov. 20 and one Nov. 21; Ocean County Mall posts no arrival date. Thirteen pages name Dec. 24 as the last day. Weekdays in the table are our computation for 2026. Quaker Bridge Mall’s page lists pet photos and Caring Santa on Dec. 6 without a time, and Katy Mills lists pet photos on Nov. 29 without a clear time, so we give the dates only.

Which Simon malls hold pet photo nights with Santa?

Thirteen of the 20 pages list a pet photo date. Dec. 6 appears for five of them (The Avenues, Summit Mall, Quaker Bridge Mall, Southdale Center and Newport Centre) and Dec. 13 for six (Lakeline Mall, Woodland Hills Mall, Southdale Center, Treasure Coast Square, Newport Centre and Ocean County Mall). Earlier dates are Westfarms on Monday, Nov. 16, Ocean County Mall and Great Lakes Crossing Outlets on Sunday, Nov. 15, Great Lakes Crossing Outlets again on Sunday, Nov. 22, and Katy Mills, Prien Lake Mall and Newport Centre on Sunday, Nov. 29.

Reservations are not required for the pet nights at Lakeline Mall, Southdale Center, Treasure Coast Square, Prien Lake Mall and Newport Centre, according to their pages. The Shops at Mission Viejo has no separate pet night; its page says pets are welcome during regular Santa hours.

Where are the Caring Santa sensory sessions in 2026?

Five of the 20 pages list a Caring Santa session, and all five are on Sunday, Dec. 6: South Hills Village and The Avenues at 10:30 a.m., Prien Lake Mall at 11:30 a.m., Ocean County Mall from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., and Quaker Bridge Mall, whose page gives no time. Counting pet nights and Caring Santa sessions together, Dec. 6 appears 10 times in our table, more than any other date.

Ocean County Mall’s page describes Caring Santa as “a special, sensory-friendly experience - exclusively for children with special needs and their families,” and says “Reservations are required for this private event.” We did not find reservation rules for the other four sessions on the pages we read.

What hours and booking do the Simon malls post?

Only some pages give hours or booking. Where they do, the details are:

• Ross Park Mall: Nov. 6 to Nov. 25, Monday to Friday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Dec. 24, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The page says “Book your reservation here.”
• Katy Mills: Nov. 13, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Summit Mall: Nov. 14, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Dec. 24, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Quaker Bridge Mall: Nov. 20, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Dec. 24, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the page says “Make Your Reservation Here.”
• The Shops at Mission Viejo and The Avenues: booking runs through whereissanta.com.
• South Hills Village: the arrival event is Friday, Nov. 13, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., with photos from Nov. 13 to Dec. 24 and reservations linked on the page.

Thanksgiving is Thursday, Nov. 26, 2026; check your mall’s page for hours around the holiday.

Do other mall owners post Santa dates for 2026?

Not on Nov. 5 in the sources we checked. Brookfield Properties had not posted 2026 Santa dates, and we do not give dates for malls whose operators have not posted them. Macerich’s Fashion Fair in Fresno, California, lists pet photos with Santa on Nov. 16, 2026, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., and a “Signing Santa” session in American Sign Language (ASL) on Dec. 1, 2026, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., on its events page.

How to find your own mall’s Santa dates

Go to simon.com, open your mall, then choose Santa Photo Experience. The pages we read show the arrival date and, where posted, pet or sensory events and reservation links. Pages can change, so check again before you go. Other Santa events sit on separate dates in our Christmas parades 2026 story, and Santa mail has its own deadlines in our letters to Santa 2026 story. Lights and trees are in the Christmas tree lightings 2026 story.

Printable Santa at the mall 2026 arrival list

The sheet lists the arrival dates in order with pet nights and Caring Santa sessions, and notes what the pages do not post. Mark the dates on the November 2026 printable calendar and the December 2026 printable calendar.