Pictures with Santa

I am fairly indifferent about Santa Claus.  I don't really try to get my kids to believe in him, but I don't entirely discourage it either.  Audrey has been asking me questions about Santa recently.  I don't really want to lie to her and say that  he is real, but then I hate for my kid to be the one to ruin it for other people's kids who do believe in Santa Claus.  I have remained fairly vague on the topic with Audrey ("I don't know, Audrey, what do you think about Santa Claus?"), always trying to shift the conversation back to Jesus and the real meaning of Christmas.

But I do like to have my kids pictures taken with Santa Claus.  Kind of like our "How Tall this Fall" picture at the pumpkin patch, I just love having pictures to compare from year to year.  So before we get to this year's picture, let's review!

Audrey first visited Santa when she was two in 2010.  I thought she would be afraid, but she had no fear and even smiled!

Then Isla got to join in on the fun in 2011.  Isla was a little too young her to realize that Santa could be scary.  But just wait to see what a difference a year makes!

Last year we tried a new location, where they had a Santa and a Mrs. Claus.  One lap for each kid. I thought Mrs. Claus might be a little less intimidating for Isla.  But no, she was still plenty intimidating.  Isla was not a fan at all.

So that brings us to this year.  Our bank was having a Christmas party on Saturday with lots of free crafts and activities and cookies.  And they also were offering free pictures with Santa.  So, even though it was only November 23 and not even Thanksgiving yet, it sounded like too good of a deal to refuse.

My plan was to put Audrey and Isla alone with Santa.  He was sitting in a sleigh, and I thought maybe Isla would be willing to sit next to him on the sleigh.  As we were standing in line, one of the volunteers noticed that Isla was looking a little unsure of getting her picture taken with Santa.  So she suggested that we should make it a whole family picture, and maybe Isla would be more willing if we were in the picture with her.

I had just rolled out of bed, thrown on my glasses and some clothes before we left the house that morning.  So I wasn't too excited about being in the picture looking like I was looking.  But I decided that maybe it was worth a shot.

Or not.  Isla didn't cry or scream, so I guess that was good.  But she kept her eyes squeezed tightly closed the entire time, and she physically pulled herself as far as possible away from Santa.  (And she refused to let us take off her coat!) The ladies taking the pictures had bells and reindeers and bubbles, all trying to get Isla's attention.  But I told them not to worry about it, because we could sit there all day and try to get her to just look at the camera.  But once she has made up her mind to do something, especially something related to getting her picture taken, there is no changing her mind!

So with that story, I present to you our family picture with Santa for 2013.

I'm tempted to try again with a different Santa and see if I can get one where Isla is at least looking in the general direction of the camera.  But that seems a bit cruel on my part.  So this will probably be our official picture for this year!