Parenting Australia

Click: The Santa Snap Strategy

Yesterday was a milestone in our family. No Ethan didn't walk, nor did Noah write his name, but we did achieve something - a no-tears, no-freaking-out Santa photo.

We walked up to Santa in Myer, took our place behind one other family, waited patiently while Santa spoke to his fans and then Noah and Ethan sat on Santa's lap and smiled for the camera. It was that simple.

The reason I am so excited about this is because this our fourth year of Santa photos - and it has been the easiest to date. For Noah's first Christmas in 2006 we decided to have his photo taken with Santa and give a copy to his grandparents, especially his English grandparents who wouldn't be there to share the actual day with him. They loved the photo so
Johanna Baker-Dowdell
much we decided to make it an annual event. As Noah was only seven months old, he wasn't quite at the don't-trust-people-I-haven't-seen-before stage, so the process was relatively pain-free.

So when all the jolly red men appeared in 2007 I tried for our second Santa photo. It was not as easy as the first time. Initially I dressed Noah up in some lovely, bright clothes and took him off to the shopping centre, certain I would have a photo by the end of the visit. Instead, he took one look at Santa and grabbed hold of me, never to let go!

I needed a strategy. Instead of walking straight up to Santa and assuming Noah would happily sit on his lap to pose for a photo, I talked about Santa to him and we walked past a few Santas at different locations. I gauged Noah's reaction to see when he was ready to talk to Santa, and once he was I took him in for a chat only. This broke the ice and a few chats later he was willing to sit on Santa's lap for a photo. Phew!

Last year was harder still, and I questioned several times why we were insisting on having a photo. I'm sure there are many of you reading this now and thinking I'm mad, but all the grandparents love the photos so much (especially Harvey's) that we feel we have set a precedent now. Learning from the 2007 experience, I introduced Noah to Santa slowly last year and we talked about what Santa did, where he lived and what presents Noah would like him to bring on Christmas day before we even saw a Santa. When we did go to see Santa we started with a wave, then a quick chat, then a high five and after eight visits it was time for a photo. It seemed an ordeal, but the photo was worth it.

Now you can imagine my slight apprehension this year about coordinating two children for a Santa photo. We walked past Santa a few times during our shopping trips and Noah mentioned he wanted Santa to bring him a tractor for Christmas. I thought this was a good sign. Two weeks ago we passed the Myer Santa and Noah walked up to him without prompting and started chatting about the tractor he wanted. A very good sign. So yesterday we dressed both boys in smart clothes, told Noah we were going to see Santa and crossed our fingers. Luckily it was the same Santa, and Noah eagerly awaited the chance to tell him he'd changed his mind and now wanted a transporter.

Ethan was happy to sit with his brother and look at the funny man in red and the photo took about two minutes. What was I stressing about?

What are your tips to get the perfect Santa photo? Do you sit with the children in the picture, pull funny faces behind the photographer, or just forget the photo altogether?

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Johanna Baker-Dowdell is mum to two boys – Noah and Ethan – and combines looking after them with her work as a blogger, journalist, writer and public relations consultant. She owns and manages Strawberry Communications which started small in the third bedroom, but has grown into its own office space (in the converted garage).

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