Picture with Santa

Mom and I took Olivia to have her picture taken with The North Pole's most famous Elf in December. He was an excellent Santa, the best I had ever seen, and Olivia thoroughly enjoyed herself.

Santa did give us tips for next year's photo in order to make sure it goes as smoothly as this one did, and so I will share his jolly wisdom with all of you:

1. Even if your child is super excited to see Santa, never let him/her walk up to Santa. Always carry your child and place him/her in Santa's lap. Santa can seem rather large and scary upon approach when you are only three feet tall, and once your child becomes frightened, it can be really difficult to undo.

2. Pull out last year's Santa photo early and show it to your child. Talk to them about how much fun the last trip was and let them see themselves sitting in Santa's lap. This gets them used to the idea before the Big Day.

3. Never force your child to sit in Santa's lap. Not only will the photo capture a moment you will likely want to forget, but it will also create lingering problems for future years.