"Visits and photos with Santa at the mall are a holiday tradition, and this year we are upping the digital and social experience with Santa HQ, while offering HGTV unparalleled access to millions of highly engaged shoppers,” said Ken Volk, Macerich senior vice president and chief marketing officer in the announcement.

Santa HQ will open at Chandler Fashion Center in Chandler, AZ; Danbury Fair Mall, Danbury, CT; Deptford Mall, Deptford, NJ; FlatIron Crossing, Broomfield, CO; Lakewood Center, Lakewood, CA; Los Cerritos Center, Cerritos, CA; Scottsdale Fashion Square, Scottsdale, AZ; Tysons Corner Center, McLean, VA; Vintage Faire, Modesto, CA; and Washington Square, Portland, OR.

“The success of the HGTV Holiday House was overwhelming—thousands of our fans were able to experience our brand first hand and it gave us a chance to connect face-to-face with our viewers," said Shannon Jamieson Driver, senior vice president, marketing and creative, HGTV and DIY Network in the release. "We will partner again with Macerich this season with an even more spectacular holiday experience for families to enjoy as part of their holiday shopping tradition."

The companies offered no details on what the experience will be. But beyond the brand-building benefits of the collaboration, this is an intriguing way to return hard goods, banished long ago from fashion-oriented malls, to regional and super-regional centers at a time when people are investing more in their homes than on apparel. (There's a reason HGTV was the most-watched cable network on weekends for women 25 to 54 during the first quarter of this year. )

But unanswered is one critical question: Can I ask Santa to have the Property Brothers do my backsplash?