Tips For Getting a Great Santa Claus Picture with Your Toddler

Santa's one of the world's most popular men! Who wouldn't wanna have their picture taken with him? ....well, you young ones might not! So here are a few tips at getting a better picture with Santa this year.

To us, Santa's awesome! To your little ones, Santa's a big strange man that they've never seen before and in who's lap you're expecting them to just sit in and be cool with....?

Here are a few tips to getting a good Santa Clause picture with your kiddos this year:

1. Don't make Santa out to be a bad guy!

It's easy for parents to use Santa as leverage to get kids to act better during the Holidays, but watch what you say. If kids think Santa is some guy who's only out to get their presents because they aren't behaving, odds are they aren't really going to want to meet him.

2. Preparation

Let your kids know what's going to happen before it happens. Be descriptive with them and ask if they understand and if it's okay with them to do it. If the answer is no, it's a pretty good prelude that the photo shoot isn't going to go well and should probably be postponed another year.

3. Provide Incentives

Just like you use Santa as leverage, find another sort of positive incentive for your kids to behave like Ice Cream afterwards or extra video game playing time! The key word is POSITIVE incentive. If you stress your child out with promises of punishment then they are already wound up before they even see the big guy.

4. Take a Buddy Along

This can be a friend, cousin, sibling, or even just your child's favorite stuffed animal or blanket. Giving them something familiar and comforting when in a strange situation help soothe the situation. Plus, with friends, there's more power in numbers!

5. Practice Make Perfect

If strangers scare your child, you shouldn't expect a perfect picture the first time out the gate. So practice! Introduce your child to Santa at the mall or where ever by walking by and pointing out who it is and what he does. By letting them see and know who Santa is before they meet him, they become more familiar with him and are less likely to respond negatively.