Visiting Santa: Yay or Nay?
Photo: UsedtobeGoldie / The BumpI believe there are two types of children in this world: those who adore sitting on Santa’s lap and telling him what they want for Christmas, and those who wouldn’t go near a strange fat guy in a red suit even if he were covered in gumdrops and handing out winning lottery tickets. My kids were always the second type.
It’s not that surprising, since the whole “mall Santa” experience was not a part of my childhood. I admit, I find the concept a little creepy. “Go on, sweetie! Go sit on that bearded stranger’s lap and tell him all your deepest desires. Sure, you can take a candy cane from him!”
But there’s no denying that a picture of a sweet little cherub perched on Santa’s lap is adorable. Even if the kid is wailing. Especially then. There are entire web sites devoted to funny pictures of kids with Santa. How could I miss out on that?
There’s a mall near us with a really authentic-looking Santa Claus. A real, snow-white beard, a plush, red velvet suit, shiny black boots, the whole bit. A grandfatherly type, not creepy at all. I figured if I was going to force my precious babies to sit on a stranger’s lap for a photo opp, this would be the place.
For a couple years, neither one of my boys was having it. But last year, things changed. During a trip to the mall, they both decided they wanted to visit Santa. OK, the five-year-old decided and his little brother followed. I think they didn’t want to take any chances with their Christmas lists. Better to tell Santa directly the exact kind of remote-controlled monster truck you want, rather than risk ending up with some off-brand piece of junk under the tree.
So we waited, and waited, and waited in line for our turn with Santa. Then the little guy chickened out. He dug in his heels like I was dragging him to the doctor for shots. Even when Santa himself tried to gently coax him over, he wouldn’t go. His big brother did, though. Little brother witnessed this and went nuts.
In typical toddler fashion, he changed his mind and decided he did want to sit on Santa’s lap after all. So again, we waited. And waited. And once again, he got cold feet when he got to the front of the line. No friendly elf could persuade him to get within arm’s reach of St. Nick. He did accept a candy cane, though.
Oh, well. At least we gave one of our kids the mall Santa experience. Somewhere, the in-laws have the pictures to prove it. They weren’t as hilariously awful as I’d hoped.
Will you take your child to visit Santa this year?
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My kids have to this day never sat on Santa’s lap! They have always been totally intimidated. My Santa pic with kids consists of the backs of their heads staring at him from a safe distance. Haha!
Hey, nothing wrong with that! I don’t blame them.
My kids were frightened at the thought of a strange man coming into their house at night, even if he was bringing presents. Same with the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. None of them “got” the concept of a man in a red suit delivering toys in a sleigh pulled by reindeer. Same as a huge rabbit hopping from house to house with eggs. And Heaven forbid something was going to put their hands under their pillow at night while they were sleeping and take a lost tooth. They begged for all the doors to be locked tight to keep creepy things out. Needless to say – we never had pictures with Santa. And my kids were proud to know the real meaning behind Christmas and Easter long before their friends. As for that dreaded fairy, we put the lost teeth in the garbage
Oh, the many, many ways we mess up our kids! My son is freaked out about the teeth, too. He demands to know why the Tooth Fairy needs to take them and what she does with them.
I worked in a costume shop for 10 years. Unfortunately after meeting mall Santas, there was only ONE I’d let my daughter visit. *shudder
Wow, I bet you have some stories to tell! I smell a bestseller… “Behind the Candy Cane Curtain: The Naughty Truth About Mall Santas.”
I’ve never taken my kids to the mall Santa, but my reasoning is trying to explain why Santa looks different that the Santa at the other mall, or whatever. Now that my oldest is 6, and right on the edge of believing/not believing he understands that most of the Santas are just dressed up helpers. So I thought that this year we might venture out to the mall, to investigate. Is the mall Santa real, or just a dressed up helper??? To be continued….
I tell my kids they’re Santa’s helpers, too.
When my kids were young, I took them to see Santa and the decision to sit on his lap was left entirely up to them. My son would not do it until he was 5. He stood several feet away and talk/shouted to him. It was funny and unique. Over the years of doing so, I observed some parents who went to ridiculous lengths to get their kids on Santa’s lap – crying and screaming – for a funny photo opp. I thought then and still feel that this is wrong on every level.
Yeah, those parents will pay for it in therapy years later.
sounds like you are tainting a innocent childhood pasttime. You issues of making this “icky” seem to be about you and not your child. While there are many issues to worry about affecting our children this should not be one of them and should be as innocuous as taking a picture with Mickey or a Princess at Disney! For the innocence of your child I beg you to stop making a big deal when there shouldnt be. How will you react when the real stuff hits? Stop villanizing Santa or what he stands for, that is the innocence of childhood!!
We tried it my son’s first Christmas, when he was about 10 or 11 months old. He became very, very upset, and after that I decided we’ll return when he is able to ask to do so.
i actually was hoping for a freaked-out-kid-on-the-lap-of-Santa photo but have never gotten one with Lovie yet. she’s too chill of a kid to freak out like that.