Christmas characters
The Christmas season gets booked in summer. That is not a sales line: by September the December weekends are largely gone, and the characters shopping centres and markets want are the first to go. If you are reading this in November, write anyway — things still move.
18 acts in this selection
On stilts 
The list covers the three places where December actually happens. Retail and shopping centres want mascots: Olaf, Mr. Grinch, Snowman, Gingerbread Men, Santa's Reindeer. Parades and light switch-ons want height — Toy Soldiers, Candy Canes, The Gift Elves, LED Marching Giants. Company parties want Ice Queen & King and Enchanted Reindeer, which read as a story rather than shop décor.
Format matters more than character here. A walking route through a mall calls for mascots, which last for hours and let themselves be hugged; a parade in the cold calls for stilts, which read from behind a crowd. Tell us where it happens and how long it runs, and we will match the rest.
For retail, ask us about the route as well as the character. A shift planned across the gallery brings more children to the photo point than a mascot standing in one spot all day.
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