Philadelphia's Christmas Village is open, but expect some changes due to COVID

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The Christmas Village in Philadelphia is now open to visitors, but this year there are changes so you can keep a safe distance while shopping.

For the McQuades, Thanksgiving Day is spent browsing Center City's Christmas Village.

SEE ALSO: Safety measures in place at Christmas Village

"Turkey's cooking, so we get out," said Tom McQuade. "It's a little bit of normalcy. It feels good to be able to get out and mask."

Christmas Village is back, but it comes with pandemic protocols as COVID-19 cases continue to climb this holiday.

In its 13th year, the Village has half the number of vendors to curb crowds and is limiting the number of people inside the outdoor food court. There will also be on-site social distancing ambassadors.

"It's nice to see people out and about. Not too many people, so that's good," said Megan Flinn.

"To be honest, this is our third day, and I don't see any difference than last year," said Chris Courters co-owner of Piggy Back Treats Company.

For local vendors, sales are steady. It's a chance to recoup losses over the last several months.

"For me, it's been wonderful that we can still do an event like this. I usually do 50 events a year and this is the only one -- this is my first event of the season," said Russell Brown of Russ Brown Photography.