Upper Canada Mall in Ontario, CA, has a clever plan to spread some holiday cheer (and a great reminder to visit the mall). Wear Your Wish List invites shoppers to let five of their best friends know just what they want for Christmas.

The contest lets shoppers select their 4 favorite retailers. They send those top picks to five friends, and all six get a chance to win. The entrant can win a $1500 shopping spree, and each friend gets $200 to spend at the mall. And each wish list qualifies for a daily draw.

For more about this promotion, and other happenings at Upper Canada Mall, check out the upcoming issue of Tactics Magazine.

Huntington Mall in West Virgina, US, enjoyed a feel-good Christmas event last weekend. The shopping center held its Christmas Cookie contest on Saturday, and shoppers were eager to show off their baked goods.

The tasty treats were judged on recipe originality and simplicity, and cookie taste, appearance and presentation. The winners took home gift certificates from shopping center retailers, but it sounds like the judges were the real winners on Saturday. Winning cookies ranged from frosted banana to a more traditional peanut butter chocolate chip.

It may be a simple contest, but imagining my mall filled with the scent of fresh baked cookies makes me hope more of you will be using this idea in the future.

Cause Marketing: Cause Marketing is the art of combining your commercial brand with a non-profit issue. Cause marketing campaigns have years of history and range from relatively superficial tactical partnerships, to long-term, strategic alliances that penetrate deeply into business and nonprofit organizations.

White Oaks Mall in Ontario, CA, held a fun online event this month with its Treasures of Hope auction. Visitors to the mall’s website could bid on their choice of 116 gift cards and packages from the mall and its retailers, with all proceeds going to the Children’s Aid Society of London and Middlesex.

The auction is well planned – each retailer makes a small contribution of a gift card or two to the cause. Shoppers bid on the items, and generally get a good deal on a gift card or item. Each bid also grants a chance in a draw for a $500 draw, and the winner of each item valued at over $50 gets a bonus gift card to the mall’s food court. Everyone wins, especially the Children’s Aid Society. The auction brought in over $7500 for the charity.

Centro soars after bank bailout deal

The Australian, AU

Securities in Centro Properties soared yesterday after financiers extended its $5.05 billion debt deadline for a month and agreed on a long-term rescue plan that effectively gives them ownership …

Shopping mall braced to take ‘up to £1m per hour’

The Independent, UK

The Christmas countdown has begun, with just nine shopping days to go until the big day. Brent Cross Shopping Centre in north west London predicts that its shoppers will be spending an average of £350,000 per hour, increasing to £1 million at its peak …

Shoppers find much to dislike about malls

Delaware Online, US

Close your eyes and you could be in any mall, anywhere … That’s the problem. According to Wharton research, consumers are uninspired by the sameness and predictability of shopping malls …

Caution can take the fear out of gift card purchases

Killeen Daily Herald, US

n an age of hustle and bustle, gift cards as holiday presents are becoming more popular. But in an age of plunging commerce, some people fear card recipients will arrive after Christmas to use their cards only to find locked doors and empty buildings …

Macy’s at Woodfield Mall to stay open 24 hours a day until Christmas Eve

Chicago Tribune, US

Macy’s Inc. plans to keep open its Woodfield Mall store 24 hours a day from Saturday morning through Christmas Eve for the first time in a bid to boost holiday sales during one of the grimmest shopping environments in decades …

Broadway on the Mall, in Brisbane, AU, has just launched its redesigned website, and it’s definitely worth a look.

The site is beautiful, and it takes advantage of a lot of current trends in web design. Large background images are very hot right now, and watercolour and hand drawn elements are still big news. This very fashionable site supports the mall’s fashionable image.

The content is also top-notch. With fashion advice and featured products at the forefront, the website pushes its brand without sacrificing navigability. Nothing a shopper would look for is more than two clicks away from their fingertips, and common-sense categories make the process painless. And by going light on Flash elements, the shopping center has kept the site fairly SEO friendly.

All in all, a great effort. Kudos to Broadway on the Mall.