The Gardens on El Paseo Places ‘Community First’ this Holiday Season with Santa Photos, Feeding America Partnership & Customer/Employee Appreciation

PALM DESERT — The Gardens on El Paseo will be have an in-person Santa (socially distanced, of course) for family and pet photos this year.

The Gardens also have a special campaign that launched Monday.

Following are the details.

Photos with Santa – December 5, 2020

Enjoy a socially distanced family photo with Santa this holiday season, with 100% of proceeds benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Desert. A pre-paid photo package reservation of $15 is required and can be obtained at The Gardens on El Paseo’s event page. Santa will wear a mask, at all times and during photos, regardless of state or local mandate. Please also enjoy a selfie inside of our giant illuminated ornament, nestled into the common area of the shopping center.

Paws N Claus – December 12, 2020

Enjoy a socially distanced pet photo with Santa this holiday season, with 100% of proceeds benefiting the Bianca Rae Foundation. A pre-paid photo package reservation of $15 is required and can be obtained at The Gardens on El Paseo’s event page. Santa will wear a mask, at all times and during photos, regardless of state or local mandate. Please also enjoy a selfie inside of our giant illuminated ornament, nestled into the common area of the shopping center.

Community First Campaign & Buy Nearby

The Gardens on El Paseo will be launching #CommunityFirst on November 1, 2020- December 25, 2020 a new campaign to thank loyal customers that #BuyNearby, as well as the mall’s 700 or more retail workers that help to power the local economy all year round. The campaign elements include:

  • The Gardens on El Paseo will be closed on Thanksgiving to enable mall and tenant employees to celebrate the holiday with family and friends.
  • The Gardens on El Paseo is partnering with Feeding America and FIND Food Banks to help the organization achieve its mission to combat food insecurity. November 22- December 22, we are encouraging IG users to post a selfie at The Gardens on El Paseo and use the hashtag #CommunityFirstChallenge. For every post we will donate 10 meals to Feeding America. Donations through the Feeding America network give back to the local community through food banks like FIND.
  • Donations of $1,000 will be made to charities on behalf of mall and tenant employees who have a passion for giving back. The selected employees will be featured in Community Spotlights on The Gardens on El Paseo’s website.

Charities Include:

  • The Bianca Rae Foundation
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Desert
  • YMCA of the Desert
  • Martha’s Village & Kitchen
  • Desert Cancer Foundation
  • Shay’s Warriors
  • Ronald McDonald House
  • Humane Society of the Coachella Valley
  • Desi Strong Foundation
  • Desert Autism
  • Braille Institute Palm Desert
  • The Living Desert
  •  Olive Crest

To thank customers who #BuyNearby, The Gardens on El Paseo will surprise shoppers with gift card giveaways and pay-it-forward promotions. Each week from November 3- December 25 one lucky winner will win a gift card valuing $200 through the Community First Sweepstakes. Check out our IG page @thegardensonelpaseo for rules and how to enter.

With #ShopYourWay, customers can take advantage of newly expanded holiday hours, and curbside pickup.

To connect community members to retail jobs, The Gardens on El Paseo has launched WorkRetail. This easy-to-use, patented job-matching technology will match workers to retail jobs with the goal of putting thousands to work this season.

Holiday Health & Safety

The health and safety of its customers is the Gardens’ first priority as it continues to follow all laws, mandates and CDC guidelines related to the pandemic. Efforts include requiring mask usage, regularly cleaning and disinfecting, offering hand sanitizer, closing play areas, pausing valet service, using signage to help with social distancing, turning off drinking fountains, resetting furniture, removing food court trays and other efforts.

Image Sources

  • Gardens on El Paseo: Deja’s View Photography