Santa is coming to town with dedicated Auslan sessions

Posted on 3 November, 2023

 Santa Claus is well and truly on his way and this year he’s bringing some extra magic to Christmas: hard-of-hearing families in the ACT will be able to book their own dedicated Auslan sessions at Westfield.

Landing his sleigh in both the Westfield Woden and Belconnen shopping centres on Sunday 19 November, Deaf and hard-of-hearing families across the region will have a chance to share their Christmas wish list directly with the Auslan-fluent Santa.

Making the much-loved tradition of visiting Santa more accessible and touching the lives of children and their families who are Deaf and hard-of-hearing , Auslan Santa was originally launched as a pilot program in 2022 in collaboration with Deaf-led advocacy body, Deaf Australia.

As well as offering children who use Auslan as their primary form of communication the opportunity to meet and sign with Santa, the bespoke photography sessions are longer and have helpers and an interpreter on hand to help facilitate the whole experience – making it as memorable as possible for everyone involved.

Originally beginning with sessions in New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland, the Auslan Santa expansion to the ACT means there will be many more children making magical Christmas memories this year, bringing lots of much-needed holiday cheer.

Now open for bookings, you can schedule a session at Westfield Woden from 10 am until 12 pm and Westfield Belconnen from 2 pm until 4 pm. Just make sure your wish list is ready because Santa is sure to check it twice!

For more information visit westfield.com.au