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If Santa's toy factory and Disney World made a baby it would be Target Wonderland—and it's effing awesome. The candy-cane striped holiday pop-up—okay, it’s really more of a playground—is officially open and the shop is not just for youngins, but the young at heart.
Head into the Chelsea storefront and you’ll receive a lanyard with an RFID tag that allows you to scan barcodes and digitally shop without the hassle of carrying an overflowing shopping cart. And, hell, a cart would only get in your way once you discover the netted arena, where you can fly and test drones, and make toy sports cars go vroom on a windy race track.
But the fun doesn’t stop there! Strike your best pose by a massive Etch A Sketch, where you can have your photo taken and watch your portrait being drawn on the giant screen. Customize an ornament at the “Orna-maker” (you can type a special message via iPad and the decoration will be created on-site). And there’s a life-size replica of Elsa’s castle from Disney’s hit film Frozen, where artists will be standing by to give you temporary glitter-tattoos.
Can’t bear the thought of sitting on Santa’s lap? Traumatized folks and kiddies will be relieved to know that Target has brought Mr. Claus into the digital age. Sit in a big red chair, say the magic words and you can FaceTime Santa and tell him exactly what you want underneath your tree this year.
And once you finished shopping (and playing), you can purchase your holiday gifts by the fireplace, and Santa’s hand will shoot down and deliver your bag of goodies.
70 Tenth Avenue at 15th St (target.com). Mon–Sat 10am–8pm, Sun 10am–6pm.
Take peek at what you can expect to see below!
Photographs: Courtesy Neil Rasmus/BFA.com