When did it become a fad for malls to put out pricey Santa photos?

[Mysterian]

One mall (RIP) even used to have a witch at Halloween to take photos with. I miss those days.

Ooo! Wish I had that at my mall.

 

[Mysterian]

BTW, you can get a Santa costume for less than $70 and take all the pictures you need.

Let’s say you don’t have the right model for your Santa. I got you: Just stuff the suit like a scarecrow and put a mask/fake head on it. All that’s left to make it a genuine mall Santa is add just a splash of bourbon on Santa’s lips.

I hope this helps. Christmas Magic is one of my specialties.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Stop the presses..... Santa died? How did I miss this?

Well yeah. It happens. But There's a contingency plan for that.

 

[Buzz Rules]

Well yeah. It happens. But There's a contingency plan for that.

 

[Buzz Rules]

Stop the presses..... Santa died? How did I miss this?

Technically in 343AD. As a Catholic, he is one of my favorite saints (the story of the three women he saved is very touching):

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas

 

[nw6675]

Two more thoughts:
1. When I lived in TN there was a guy who very realistically naturally looked like Santa. You could pay him to make a visit to your house before Christmas. Really nice man, but that's creepy.
2. Back to TN again, our mall had the Easter Bunny, too. My DD was about 3 and we were on the upper open air level. "HI EASTER BUNNY!!!! HI EASTER BUNNY!!," she screamed down to him. We did not get a picture and I was so embarrassed.it echoed through the whole place.

 

[mom2rtk]

Technically in 343AD. As a Catholic, he is one of my favorite saints (the story of the three women he saved is very touching):

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas

As a fellow Catholic, that’s not what anyone is talking about here.

 

[mom2rtk]

I miss when Christmas wasn’t commercialized and celebrated the way it’s supposed to be. *sigh*

Honestly, you aren’t old enough to have ever experienced it that way.

 

[mom2rtk]

Ooo! Wish I had that at my mall.

It was fun. Took my now 27 and 29 year old boys at 2 and 4. It was gone by the time my daughter came along. Just a fun seasonal thing.

 

[lanejudy]

I'm glad DD never really wanted or liked to visit with Santa. At the mall she was content to watch from behind the railing or even the upper level. She would wave and he would wave back in-between other kids, then she was happy and went along with our shopping. So I never paid mall prices. We do have several opportunities around town for free (usually take your own) pictures -- the library, the ice rink, a parade and party after, etc. She still was never real big on wanting to sit on his lap or even stand next to him and chat.

 

[RogueX]

My father in-law looks a lot like Santa and used to sit for photos with kids at fundraisers near where he lives.

Every now and then when he's grocery shopping around Christmas time, he'll hear a child say "look, it's Santa!" Even though he's in plain clothes.

My daughter jokes that she can get her picture with Santa anytime of the year, she just has to visit her grandfather.

 

[RedAngie]

Honestly, you aren’t old enough to have ever experienced it that way.

Heck, <<I’m>> not old enough to have ever experienced it that way. Maybe my parents weren’t either. Christmas has been over-commercialized for close to a century.

 

[Mysterian]

I miss when Christmas wasn’t commercialized and celebrated the way it’s supposed to be. *sigh*

I agree with the others, it's been commercialized for ages now.

Nobody's dictating that you make it commercialized Christmas for yourself. Everyone can celebrate Christmas in their own way.

 

[tazdev3225]

We stopped taking the grandkids to the mall santas when I was chased by security. My kids were all purchasing a package and I have a very nice camera. I even asked first but then the manager saw my camera and got angry, it was better than their equipment. Security tried to grab my camera and then my husband showed up. They went up to him and wanted me arrested. My husband was in law enforcement and still in his uniform. He threatened to have them arrested for assault because one had grabbed my jacket. Such fond memories. My grandkids never wanted to go back.

My church started having a Lunch with Santa and my dad was "Santa". The grandkids knew it was him but when they were young, they swore their Big Pop really was Santa. It came in handy when they started misbehaving around Christmas. We just threatened to call him and he would let his elves know to put them on the naughty list. Worked like a charm.

My parents went on vacation years ago and this little boy kept staring at my dad. He was convinced Santa was there on vacation with them. My dad played along because he loved being "Santa". I am hoping for one more year this year to get at least one picture of him with his first great-great grandson on his lap. My dad is 86 and his health isn't the greatest.

 

[_19disnA]

Malls has always offered paid Santa pictures as long as I can remember. I don't remember years ago what they charged, but likely the price has gone up over time. I think with fewer malls around now, the number of people still going there to take pictures with Santa has probably decreased quite a bit.

 

[mom2rtk]

I haven't checked prices around here, but I guarantee they aren't charging $60 to see Santa.

 

[RedAngie]

The only complaint I have against mall Santa photo ops is that they start like November 8 or so. Please!!! Give Thanksgiving its due!!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I worked as a Santa's helper in the 80s during high school and college. If I recall correctly, we charged $5 for a 3 x 5, $5 for two wallet-sized pics or $8 if you bought both. If you bought the package, you could add additional pics for $3 each, but we had to take a 2nd picture to do that. The camera could only spit out 1 3x5 and 2 wallets at a time. We had these huge film cartridges that we had to reload after like 10 pictures. It was a fun job. Our main Santa was awesome to work with. What I didn't like was the parents who basically forced their kids to sit on a strange man's lap and smile. Our Santa would tell them when enough was enough. He refused to basically restrain a struggling child in his lap so their parents could have a picture. Customers were always welcome to take pics with their own cameras. Sometimes they asked me to take one of the whole family using their camera. It was never a problem. The idea was to keep them coming to our mall to spend their money!

 

[Buzz Rules]

As a fellow Catholic, that’s not what anyone is talking about here.

I get it. My point was partly that “Santa” is over 1,700 years old.

 

[Buzz Rules]

Honestly, you aren’t old enough to have ever experienced it that way.

Heck, <<I’m>> not old enough to have ever experienced it that way. Maybe my parents weren’t either. Christmas has been over-commercialized for close to a century.

While this is true, it’s commercialization gets worse every year.