An internationally renowned talking Christmas tree has made its annual return to a major Nova Scotia mall.
Dozens of families with young children eagerly stood in line at the Mic Mac Mall in Dartmouth Saturday morning awaiting their chance to awaken Woody the Talking Christmas Tree from its lengthy multi-seasonal nap.
“Wake up, Woody!” the crowd, led by a group of firefighters and a guest appearance from Santa Claus himself, chanted as the abnormally large fir opened its beaming eyes.
“You’re on Santa’s nice list this year!” Woody shouted to a fascinated onlooker, opening and closing its ginormous mouth below a pair of rosy, red cheeks.
“Thank you so much for coming to see me.”
Those in attendance were equally grateful that Woody decided to come back and visit them for the holidays.
Kohen Corkum, who said he came out to chat with the talking Christmas tree last year as well, said he likes Woody because he’s funny.
“He’s a great Christmas tree,” he said.
After a 15-year hiatus, Woody made headlines in 2021 when he popped up at the busy shopping centre following calls for his return from hibernation.
Woody simultaneously charms and frightens some shoppers – social media users have previously expressed their childhood fears of the towering figure.
The debate around Woody even made its way to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon following its return in November 2021, where Fallon remarked: “Some people think it’s cute while other people think it’s a little creepy.”
During the segment, Fallon played a short clip showing Woody wishing mallgoers a Merry Christmas.
“Well, now we know what the Christmas episode of Squid Game will look like,” he said, referencing the giant robot doll who oversaw the game in the Netflix show’s Red Light Green Light episode.
The Boston Christmas tree also made a special appearance during Saturday’s events, an annual thank you to the U.S. city for sending medical personnel and supplies to Nova Scotia within hours of the Halifax Explosion in 1917, before departing for its final destination in Boston.
Woody will be waking up at 12 p.m. daily and engaging with mesmerized shoppers at the Mic Mac Mall thorugh Dec. 23.
— with files from Vanessa Wright