Mall takes bids for Santa display after 'overwhelming' response

If you want  to own a little piece of Christmas magic, Kildonan Place has just the deal for you.

Santa's Christmas Cabin, a display the mall used for children's photos with Santa for 10 years, is up for sale.

The mall posted an ad earlier this week on Kijiji, an online classified advertising service, looking for a new home for the set. The mall bought a new one last year and needed to free up some storage space.

"The response has been phenomenal," Kildonan Place marketing manager Corey Quintaine told Information Radio host Marcy Markusa on Friday.

"We've been overwhelmed with the number of people that are interested."

The display was initially listed for $2,000, but because there was so much interest, the mall is now accepting bids on the set.

Any amount over the initial asking price will be donated to the Children's Rehabilitation Foundation, Quintaine said.

"Santa's been magical to so many kids over the years at Kildonan Place, we wanted to help kids in this part, too," he said.

The set comes with a painted Styrofoam Christmas cabin, pre-lit artificial Christmas trees, 60-centimetre-tall fibreglass mice, a tree stump mailbox and, of course, Santa's chair, which stands more than two metres tall.

The display takes up about 65 to 75 square metres and is best suited for an indoor space because of its materials.

Quintaine said there's been interest from far and wide, with potential buyers in Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and northern Manitoba, but buyers are responsible for the cost of shipping the items.

The mall will take bids until the end of the day Friday, and wants the entire display to stay together.

"As long as it goes to a good home, I'm happy to make sure it gets anywhere," Quintaine said.