For the last six years, we have brought the family out to do Christmas photos at a variety of different locations. Some we paid for and some have been free. Looking back, I don't really remember any of our experiences which means they weren't really good or bad. This year we decided to venture to Arrowhead Mall to check out the Santa experience since we have heard good things about it from our friends!
I popped online to Look at the malls website for booking our visit. I was happy to see that it was easy to navigate through and that the whole process was easy and self-explanatory! I went to their website, www.celebrateyourholiday.com, found the location we wanted to go to, and selected the day and time that worked for my family. It was nice and convenient to book online. I was thrilled to know that I wouldn’t have to wait in line to visit Santa and that we would have a designated time to meet with him. No long waits and no major meltdowns from standing around waiting.
We arrived at our schedule time and checked in. They had our info and since we had already signed up and done everything online we immediately got to go to the next place on our adventure! There were cute cards and the crayons for the kids to write a letter to Santa. The cards started with “Dear Santa,” which was great for the older kiddos that want to take the time to write the letter…or the blank area for the younger ones to draw a picture or scribble a note to the big guy. After my kids finished their cards, the next place we went was to an oversized mailbox where we "sent" our letters to Santa. From there we were welcomed to an area where the kids photos were taken with a cute snowflake backdrop. We were then escorted around the presents and Christmas trees to where Santa was located and that is where the excitement really started…
My daughter is six years old and my son is two. I never really know how the kids behavior is going to pan out when we are out and about. My little guy was having a meltdown before we even made it to the mall so we knew it was going to be a fun night! When my kids saw Santa they got very excited. The tears stopped and the look of amazement set in. Santa was so warm and welcoming when he wave the kids over. My daughter popped right up and sat next to Santa and we crossed our fingers as we sat our son down next to the big guy. I loved that he instantly started talking to both of them and he was able to get my son to sit with him. The evening of tears and tantrums had finally stopped all thanks to good old Saint Nick! Although we couldn’t get a smile out of my son, I was really impressed with the photographer getting their attention and I loved that we got a photo of the kids where they were both actually looking at the photographer! Our normal Photos end up with at least one kid looking out of sorts so to have both of them looking, one smile, and one with no tears, I was thrilled! We got to pick out the picture we liked and they printed them off right there for us. They let me know that we would receive an email with all of the images and that if we wanted to purchase more there would be an option online to do that.
The next morning when I checked my email, I already had the link to the pictures emailed to me and I was able to pick and choose what I wanted to do next. I knew that if I didn’t order photos for both sides of the family that I would be in trouble! We received six photos which would normally be enough but I added a few photos to the shopping cart and placed my order to make sure we had one for everyone in the family. I liked that I had a sweet photo with the three of them but that I could also get the one where Santa is giving the kids a squeeze/hug…it was too cute to pass up! I can’t wait to get the prints and our mug in the mail!
I really loved our entire experience with celebrateyourholiday.com from booking to the final photos and I would highly recommend visiting Arrowhead Mall to have your pictures with Santa done! Make things easy and click HERE to sign up!
*I received compensation for this review however all views and opinions are my own*
