Home Visit with Santa Willie

How to Prepare for a Home Visit with Santa

 

This is how lasting memories of your family and friends are made and captured forever. So let me suggest some ways to maximize your event so that you can keep the treasured memories of your Santa visit forever!

HAVE YOUR CAMERA READY

Be sure to have all cameras, phones and fresh batteries necessary to take the photos you want. Don't miss a once in lifetime moment due to stale or dead batteries!

 

SANTA’S ARRIVAL

Ideally, Santa’s arrival should be out of view of your guests. If you have gifts for Santa to pass out then work out a place for Santa to transfer them to his bag such as a porch, garage or car. Santa's suit is quite warm, so a parking place close to your event will keep Santa cool. 

 

GIFTS FROM SANTA 

Santa will be glad to hand out one bag of presents you provide (no more than can fit in a 30 gallon trash bag) for children or guests. Gifts should be labeled in a very legible handwriting, and if there are any challenging pronunciations they should be communicated to Santa before the event. It is a good idea to write the names on the wrapping paper instead of tags since they tend to fall off in Santa’s sack. It might be a good idea to have a couple of extra presents on hand as well, in case of an unplanned extra guest.

 

HAVE A SPECIAL CHAIR FOR SANTA

Santa needs a chair that is sturdy and stable that will support him plus a child on each knee. A good, sturdy straight-back dining chair with no arms works well. Place the chair in a good setting and your photos will have more impact. Leave a foot or two between the chair and the tree or wall. This will allow room for others to gather around and behind Santa’s chair for group photos. For the best pictures, adjust overhead lighting and place table or floor lamps to adequately light the scene. Flashes should only be used to “fill” not to light the scene. Santa will inspect the stockings, and admire the Christmas tree with your children or grandchildren so leave room for those activities.

 

SANTA STAYS IN CHARACTER

This is very important and something most adults don't thinking about. During your visit I am Santa Claus. Please don’t ask questions about when I started playing Santa or where did I get my costumes. It’s very important that you treat me as Santa Claus and not as someone that plays Santa Claus. This will help keep the wonder of Christmas alive for your children and others.

 

GATHER BEFORE SANTA ENTERS

Timing is everything. Minutes spent getting everyone together is part of your contracted time. If everyone is scattered around the house, you lose valuable time. You and Santa will coordinate a call when he is five minutes away from arriving. That’s your cue to have someone go outside to meet Santa, and for you to get everyone together and ready for the visit. If Santa is to bring in presents, the person meeting him can help him fill his bag. Then, at the right moment, Santa can join the festivities.

 

SANTA’S PRIORITIES

Santa wants to give his full attention to each child, so if you have a large group of children to see Santa, a person assigned to be Santa’s helper can help to ease nerves and pose the children for photos. Some teenagers may think they are too old to have a photo with Santa. Santa can stand up for a “buddy” photo. 

 

CONCLUSION OF THE VISIT

Santa always likes to end his visit with a reading of ‘'Twas the Night Before Christmas." Know that at the end of the story Santa will make his exit wishing a “Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night”. 

 

I hope this list will help you to plan and execute your vision of the perfect home visit from Santa, and I sincerely thank you for allowing me to be a part of your season.