SELFRIDGES GROTTO LAUNCHES WITH A LESSON IN TECHNOLOGY FOR SANTA

01/12/08

The Santa Claus at London’s leading store; Selfridges, is undergoing a technical make over from the Geek Squad to better understand what children want this Christmas. An explosion in gadget-laden gifts last year left Santa searching his sack for answers to kids’ responses to the festive question; “what would you like from Santa this year?”

When the Grotto opens its doors on Saturday, Santa will have busied himself in a special workshop, developed by the Geek Squad, to help decipherer and de-mystify the jargon associated with this year’s most desired presents. More than 10,000 children are expected to pass through the Grotto by the time it closes on Christmas Eve.

“Technology tops the Christmas list for kids this year, that’s why we have enlisted the Geek Squad to help Santa distinguish his sack from his Mac,” said Richard Jones, Head of Technology at Selfridges.

Geek Squad have created a Guide to Gadgets for Santa to avoid Ho, Ho, Ho moments turning into Oh, Oh, Doh…:

i-Dog: the latest micro-chipped dog from Hasbro only requires batteries.
Wall.E: not an insult but Vivid Imaginations’ transforming robot.
Nano: not the name of the ninth reindeer, but Apple’s latest slim MP-3 player.
IM-ME: not a child requesting a clone of itself, but Mattel’s Girl Tech IM-ME, a wireless text-messaging device for young girls.
Wii: don’t panic its just Nintendo’s motion sensitive games console.
My-Life: don’t worry, you haven’t encountered a philosophical child, instead a request for Flaire Leisure Products’s hand-held electronic consule, allowing kids to choose their body build, eye, hair colour and more to recreate an electronic character to share with friends
Santa Cam - www.noradsanta.org - North American Aerospace Defense Command’s live satellite feed which can be viewed on a home computer. These "Santa Cams" track Santa as he makes his way through the world, dropping Christmas toys to good little boys and girls everywhere.

Geek Squad’s Lee Williams, specially seconded to this mission, explains: “Anyone born in the fourth century can be forgiven for not keeping up with the latest technical innovations and that’s why we’re happy to help Santa.”