EL PASO, Texas -- It's one of the most important holiday traditions, visiting Santa at the mall, and telling him what you want for Christmas. But this year, some parents are worried that old St. Nick may give not just presents, but the H1N1 flu.

Thousands are expected to get their picture taken with Santa at Bassett Place Mall this year. Children getting close to Santa, telling him what they want and of course getting a hug.

"I've been telling them they need to wash their hands, not to touch their face, I'm definitely concerned about it," said Sylvia Clary, from Central El Paso.

Clary said while she's worries about it, she's not going to let the flu get in the way of a Christmas tradition.

"I am concerned, but I'm not going to keep 'em at home," Clary told KFOX.

And Bassett Place Mall is taking those concerns seriously too.

"This year we've got hand Santa-tizer, sanitizer for the children's parents to use on their hands, and Santa is changing his gloves hourly," said Marguerite Byers with Bassett Place Mall.

KFOX saw plenty of kids take advantage of the santa-tizer.

"They're having that hand sanitizer and around here in the mall, I've seen all the parents carry a little bottle of hand sanitizer, so it looks like everybody is watching out for everybody," said Gloria Armendariz, from Northeast El Paso.

Armendariz brought her grandchildren to see Santa on Saturday.

"It's really clean. I mean, I'm amazed because it's really packed this morning," she said.

And as an added precaution, Santa's little helpers routinely clean the set.

"I saw them when they were having their display here this morning, the janitors came in and they started cleaning everything with I guess it was bleach or something," said Armendariz.

You can visit santa at Bassett Place Mall everyday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. from now through Christmas Eve.