In partnership with Welcome Santa
It happens eventually in every household: that first seed of doubt in one of your kids about the magic of Santa Claus. For us, this was the year. Our oldest, age 6, came home from school on two different occasions to report that such-and-such friend “doesn’t think Santa is real.”
Fortunately, it wasn’t hard to reassure my son that his friends were mistaken; it was clear he still very badly wants to believe. But I could tell he was teetering on the edge of a discovery that I feel he is too young to make.
Enter, Welcome Santa. This family-run business connects children around the country with Santa via live video chat, merging timeless tradition with 21 st -century technology to basically knock your kids’ reindeer-print socks off.
This is so much more than a generic meet-and-greet scenario; before the call, you fill out a quick online form introducing Santa to your kids, describing their interests, school, family pets and most helpful for parents—areas they may need to work on to stay atop the Nice List. During the 5-minute call, Santa weaves in this information to eliminate any trace of doubt that your kids are talking to the Real-Deal St. Nick. He’s also prepared to answer rapid-fire questions about the elves, Mrs. Claus and the reindeer (in our case, even producing a “photo” of Rudolph).
Our chat included both my son and his 4-year-old sister, and they were mesmerized. The company requests no more than two kids at a time so each one gets sufficient special attention. In my case, having them participate together was key, since their “area to work on” is not inflicting major bodily harm on one another every evening before bed. They may not listen to me or my husband, but you better believe they did NOT roll their eyes at Santa.
In addition to the call itself, Welcome Santa provides a keepsake video so you can revisit this magical experience again and again—and share with the grandparents, of course. The service runs from Nov. 23 – Dec. 23 (at which point Santa needs to sign off to prepare for the demands of worldwide present delivery), and online booking through the company’s website is a breeze.
As a mom of three, I have paid for far too many experiences I thought would be special but turned out to be forgettable or gimmicky. This was not one of them. After saying goodbye to Santa, I looked at my kids’ faces and knew one thing for certain: the magic of Christmas is alive and well in our house this year.
Visit http://www.welcomesanta.com to set up your free account and check Santa’s availability. Each $29.99 package includes a 5-minute call for up to 2 participants, as well as a keepsake video.
