Everyone is feeling the effects of coronavirus, even the guy in the big red suit. Santa recently made an announcement in conjunctive ImagineAR, an augmented reality platform, that kids can see him in their own home instead of heading to the mall or other public location for the traditional picture with Santa. Many locations have stopped Santa visits this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Using the free ImagineAR app, parents Santa into their living room for photos and videos. The life-size talking 3D Santa allows children to have the experience of visiting with Santa right from their own homes.
“The elves at ImagineAR and I wanted to bring some early holiday cheer to children this year, since social distancing has stopped my visits to shopping malls, stores and special events. We wanted to make sure children could still have their yearly photo with me and could even dance with me in their very own homes,” Santa said in a press release.
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The free app was inspired by the daughter of one of the ImagineAR developers.
“This little girl wanted to visit Santa before the holidays and while she understood it wasn’t safe, it broke Santa’s heart,” said Alen Silverrstieen, the lead developer and father of the girl who inspired the project.
“The big guy was quite clear— make it so parents, grandparents and friends can use their smartphone to bring him directly into the homes of children everywhere for photos. We went a step further with Santa’s magic— using the free ImagineAR app and from the phone, folks can even record video of Santa Claus dancing with their little ones in front of their very own trees to share with family and friends!” Silverrstieen said.
If you would like to bring Santa into your living room for the traditional Santa photos this year, just download the free ImagineAR app in the IOS App Store or Google Play onto your mobile device. You can then select “AR Near Me” to select your preferred Santa experience. There are several different experiences available including taking a picture with Santa in different poses, Santa playing Jingle Bell Rock on electric guitar or dancing with Santa.
Although you might not be able to see Santa in person this year, the ImagineAR app helps bring him to life for those special photos and videos.
Download the ImagineAR app here for iOS devices or here for Android devices.
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