--- description: Santa Claus is coming to town, but not for impromptu visits at Macy's Herald Square location. title: Want to See Santa This Year? Better Make a Reservation First image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7c8c2711e0e0566/6988e673656a3f7379bd2877/gettyimages-534950572.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Want to See Santa This Year? Better Make a Reservation First by [Lucinda Shen](/author/lucinda-shen/) ## Lucinda Shen Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 20, 2017 1:14 PM CUT  An "elf" in an apron and hat greets visitors to Macy's Santaland in the New York Macy's store during the Christmas season. (Photo by mark peterson/Corbis via Getty Images) An "elf" in an apron and hat greets visitors to Macy's Santaland in the New York Macy's store during the Christmas season. (Photo by mark peterson/Corbis via Getty Images)mark peterson—Corbis via Getty Images by [Lucinda Shen](/author/lucinda-shen/) ## Lucinda Shen Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 20, 2017 1:14 PM CUT He might not need a reservation to stop by your home, but Kris Kringle is so popular in the days leading up to Christmas that he is now only taking visits by appointment. Or at least that’s the case at Macy’s flagship location in New York’s Herald Square. In a bid to cut down on long lines, department store giant Macy’s is allowing fans to visit its flagship location’s Santa Claus by reservation only. It’s the first time in the company’s 155 years of hosting the event that it’s disallowing impromptu stops from guests. Last year, Macy’s allowed for both reservations and walk-ins. “Santa’s a popular guy, so the wait times to meet him have been quite long in previous years, especially on our busiest days,” according to the [website’s FAQ](https://www.macys.com/social/santa-land/#faqs "undefined") page. “The new reservation system is designed to minimize this by scheduling visitors to join the line at a time of your choice, allowing for the best possible holiday experience.” Santa will be available between Nov. 24 to Dec. 24 via free admission. He can booked 30 minutes to five days prior to a visit, according to Macy’s. That comes as the city’s population—and its pool of tourists—has grown quickly in recent years. While the city’s population grew a healthy [362,540](http://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/data-maps/nyc-population/current-future-populations.page "undefined") to 8.5 million between 2010 and 2016, annual visits to New York have grown 11.7 million since 2010, to 60.5 million in 2016, according to [NYC & Company](http://www.nycandcompany.org/research/nyc-statistics-page "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5031377/santa-claus-macys-reservations/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5031377/santa-claus-macys-reservations/"},"headline":"Want to See Santa This Year? Better Make a Reservation First","datePublished":"2017-11-20T13:14:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:18:37.676Z","description":"\"Santa's a popular guy\"","url":"https://time.com/5031377/santa-claus-macys-reservations/","keywords":["Macy's","christmas","santa claus","onetime","Holiday 2017"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7c8c2711e0e0566/6988e673656a3f7379bd2877/gettyimages-534950572.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lucinda Shen","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/lucinda-shen/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7c8c2711e0e0566/6988e673656a3f7379bd2877/gettyimages-534950572.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Elf at Macy's Santaland","caption":"Elf at Macy's Santaland","creditText":"mark peterson—Corbis via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5031377/santa-claus-macys-reservations/","name":"Want to See Santa This Year? Better Make a Reservation First"}}]}] ```