Kickstart: Santa Claus is coming to town, but with some key differences

The good news is that Santa Claus won't be trapped behind a plastic barrier this year.

But parents should expect visits with Kriss Kringle will still be limited, with kids placed on benches — rather than on Santa's lap — and reservations required.

The Macy's department store chain, for instance, only has Santa available at limited locations. Everyone must be masked and kids will sit across a desk as they tell him whether they've been good or bad.

Randyl Wagner, a professional Santa for three decades, told Bloomberg that after doing 600 virtual appearances in 2020, he is doing limited in-person visits in 2021, but with COVID precautions in place.

"I have not done any lap-sitting yet," Wagner said.

A few locations will allow kids to sit on Santa's lap (Santa will be vaccinated, a mall owner told Bloomberg), but others are remaining cautious. Bronner's Christmas Wonderland, a Frankenmuth, Mich., holiday store, said it is sticking with virtual visits only.

Beyond COVID concerns, the other issue forcing some reduced Santa appearances this year is common to all businesses: a labor shortage. Hiring agencies for Santas told Bloomberg they haven't been able to fill every opening, even with extra bonus offers.

A rising wave of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., along with the arrival of the new omicron variant, is sending more events to a virtual setting.

The Society of Plastics Engineers recently announced its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Manufacturing forum has been moved from a planned live event in New York City this month to now a virtual event, taking place online Jan. 27-28.

The event will still provide a focus on how companies are fostering DEI, with discussions on raising awareness, recognizing personal bias and how an inclusive environment will benefit your company.

Other SPE DEI sessions are still scheduled to take place as in-person events throughout 2022.

When organizers of the Plastics Industry Awards put together the list of award categories for European firms, it added a new item for 2021 recognizing companies that have stepped forward to help fight COVID-19.

Eighteen companies were in the running for the award and in picking Polystar Plastics Ltd. of Southampton, England, as COVID-19 Business Hero, judges said the honor recognizes all of the nominees. (Plastics News parent Crain Communications Inc. organizes the awards.)

A film maker, Polystar previously focused on flexible packaging, bags and agricultural products, but the pandemic produced "unprecedented demand for single-use, disposable polythene aprons," and the company jumped in to begin making medical aprons for the National Health Service.

"As a British company we wanted to fully support the NHS and so put into place an investment strategy that meant we were able to install and commission several new lines dedicated to the production of PPE aprons," the company noted. "These lines are currently producing in excess of 50 million aprons per week and plans to install further lines by the end of the year will see our capacity increase to 100 million per week."

Polystar is now the largest maker of single-use disposable aprons in Europe, saying its investment will "go some way to ensuring that previous shortages in this type of personal protective equipment is a thing of the past."