Seeing Santa is a holiday tradition many parents look forward to, but not every child is immediately comfortable with the jolly, bearded stranger in red. What you imagined as a sweet photo moment can easily turn into tears or overwhelm if little ones feel nervous or unsure.
With a bit of preparation, you can help your child feel excited, safe, and confident before their Santa visit. Below are simple, parent-tested tips to set the stage for a smooth, calm, and happy meeting with Santa Claus.
How to Prepare Kids to Meet Santa
These simple tips can help your child feel more comfortable and confident when it’s time to meet Santa.
1. Introduce Your Child to Santa Claus
Help your child warm up to Santa early through stories, movies, and familiar images.
Get your child excited about Santa at the beginning of the holiday season so that they already feel like they know him. Tell stories about the jolly man who brings presents to girls and boys around the world, or share memories of what Santa meant to you as a kid.
Visuals are always helpful, so consider watching age-appropriate Christmas movies for kids that portray Santa in a positive light, such as the original “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” “The Santa Clause,” or “Miracle on 34th Street.” Read Christmas books for kids, such as ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas or The Berenstain Bears Meet Santa Bear. And, of course, it can’t hurt to suggest that your child write a “wish list” that you can send off to the North Pole.
Remember, from your child’s perspective, those “safe,” non-threatening representations of Santa are polar opposites from standing face-to-face with a 6-foot-tall, 300-pound, bell-jingling, ho-ho-ho’ing, white hair-covered “stranger.” That can be scary for your little one.
Related: Fun and Easy Christmas Crafts for Kids
2. Avoid Weekends!
If possible, arrange to take your child to meet Santa at a time when there are shorter lines, fewer crowds, and a shorter wait. This helps reduce feelings of overwhelm and anxiety, and your child will have a more positive experience. Waiting even 10 minutes and being dragged through the maze of velvet ropes is tough for kids.
3. Consider Your Child’s Schedule
Select a time for your visit to meet Santa when your child is in their brightest, best mood. You won’t want to go during nap time or close to bedtime. Some parents wonder why their 3-year-old is upset about going to see Santa at 9:30 at night. You’ll have better results if you can arrange your schedule for a well-timed morning visit.
4. Avoid Sugar Before the Visit
Avoid sweets, ice cream, sugary cookies, candy, and sodas in the couple of hours before your visit to meet Santa. We all see how sugar affects our children’s moods. An apple, crackers, or string cheese makes a great snack to help you have a better visit! And hungry kids are more likely to misbehave.
5. What NOT to Say Before Meeting Santa
Be careful not to paint a scary picture of Saint Nick beforehand. If you prep your child by saying, “Don’t be afraid, Santa’s not going to hurt you,” you’ve introduced a possibility that may never have occurred to him. Instead, talk about how fun it will be, and show your child a picture of a sibling or a cousin perched happily on Santa’s lap.
Here are some words and phrases that you should try to avoid saying: “Now, don’t CRY.” “Don’t be AFRAID.” “Santa is not SCARY!”…
I suggest you do a lot of giggling, laughing, and smiling. DO say: “This is SO MUCH FUN!” “I like Santa!” “Santa is so nice.” “Look at all the pretty lights!” If you are going to “program” your child, do it with positive concepts that set the tone for the impending visit.
Related: Family Christmas Traditions Worth Starting
6. Go at Your Child’s Pace
Letting children approach Santa slowly builds trust and confidence.
Allow your child to get warmed up to meeting Santa on their terms. This may mean a couple of pre-visits (watching Santa from afar) before your child willingly gets onto Santa’s lap. That’s fine! Your goal is to be slow and steady, with no trauma. However long it takes your child to get seated is not a reflection on you being a good or bad parent. Every child is different. Every Santa is different. Bells, lights, Christmas music, and this huge, red-suited, hairy guy are holiday traditions that our families taught us all. It’s unfamiliar territory to your little one, so enjoy the process!
Additionally, children’s perception of time is quite different from ours, so consider walking away, doing some window shopping, and returning 20 minutes later. To a child, it’s now a whole new day! Try again. Perhaps your child will get close enough for a “high 5” or a fist bump this time rather than just watching from afar. Keep working at it! Get a little closer each time.
7. Be Santa’s Helper
Talk to Santa one-on-one to help your child grow more accustomed to him. Have your spouse, a family member, or a trusted friend distract your child for a moment while you have a little chat with Santa. Explain your child’s fears and offer suggestions on how he can reassure your child. Tell him the name of your family pet, your child’s favorite toy, or their favorite activity so he can bring it up in conversation. He can say something like, “Your mom told me you’ve been doing so well in soccer this year,” or “Mommy said you have a dog named Barkley. Tell me about him.”
Related: How to Track Santa on Christmas Eve as He Delivers Presents!
8. Use Parents and Siblings as Role Models
If you have older children, allow your little ones to watch their older siblings as they visit with Santa. Let your child assimilate the concept on their own that “visiting with Santa is fun.” If you don’t have older children, when you reach the front of the line, ask if your child can watch a few other children as they visit Santa before you and your child take your turn.
9. Be a Good Example
Let your child watch as YOU go up and greet and hug Santa. Sit next to Santa for a moment so your child understands you are signaling this is a “safe” situation. Call your child onto your lap. Place your child on the far knee, away from Santa, using you as a safety buffer between your child and Santa. Perhaps getting the candy cane treat is the next great achievement. Take the candy and say your goodbyes. Success at this stage may be having a shorter, happier experience. That’s fine! Next time, the child may even go up alone if they see a parent’s reassuring face nearby. By age 4, most children will go willingly to Santa as they understand the request & receive concept by then.
10. Do’s and Don’ts of Meeting Santa
As a quick recap and some extra pointers, here are my recommendations to help your child ease into the Santa visit and make it a good experience for all:
- DO read books with pictures of Santa to your child a few days before your visit. It gets them used to seeing jolly old Saint Nick.
- DON’T have picture day with Santa at the mall on the weekends. Crowds, chaos, and Christmas don’t mix well.
- DO take them a few days earlier to see the layout of Santa’s house and to show them other kids interacting with Santa.
- DON’T be uptight and stressed. A child can sense what you’re feeling and will react the same way.
- DO dress them in comfortable clothing. The fancy dress and bow tie may look cute, but they may not be so comfortable, adding to your child’s stress.
- DO talk to them when you’re in line. Talk about how much fun you’re having, and maybe glance over the book you shared earlier.
- DO distract your child if you hear another child with Santa crying. Start singing a Christmas carol and have them join in.
- DON’T let someone else grab your child to put them on Santa’s lap. The grabbing scares a child, and when it’s done by a stranger, it intensifies the fear.
- DON’T force a child to sit on Santa’s lap if they don’t want to. It sends the wrong message and could make your child fear Santa in the future.
- DON’T yell or get angry with your child because they’re upset. That confuses them because they know you as their protector.
- DO comfort your child if they’re upset, and tell them, “It’s ok.” Leave the area right away, but don’t panic.
- Remember, there’s always next year. 🙂
Try not to expect perfection during your Santa visit. Kids have big feelings, and even the best-planned moment doesn’t always go as expected. Sometimes the photos with unsure faces or tiny tears end up being the most memorable ones anyway. What matters most is keeping the experience gentle, positive, and comforting for your child.
If things don’t go smoothly this year, that’s okay—there’s always next time. And as your little one grows, they’ll likely become more confident and excited about visiting Santa. Until then, enjoy the season, soak up the magic, and celebrate the memories you’re making along the way.
