Well I missed a week of blogging because Santa Claus came to town!  We worked in his workshop and in the reindeer stable and now he has gone back to the North Pole (thankfully, sorry Santa!)  So for the past 2 weeks, I've been busy printing books, cards, wall portraits, prints and ornaments!

Santa portraits can sometimes be very stressful for little ones.  Thankfully I have the best Santa in the world!  He is the most patient man I know.  Usually the ages between 12 months and 3 years can be hard to photograph with Santa.  At that age most children have "mommyitis" and are fearful of strangers.  We only had a couple this year who were leery of the "jolly ole elf".  We still got some great portraits though!

Our first visit from Santa took place in his workshop.  We had all the tools and magic to build the toys. We started out checking the time on Santa's watch.

Then we played with the toys.

We had to check the list to see if the children had been naughty or nice.

Santa showed the children where the North Pole was on the globe.

We called the reindeer to load the sleigh.

And we finished off with milk and cookies!

Some children even got to wear Santa's coat and hat!

Our second visit from Santa was at his reindeer stable.  We had snow, a sleigh and of course a reindeer!  This scene started with Santa greeting the children at the door of the stable.

Then they went over to feed and pet the reindeer.  There was lots of hay mixed in with the snow!

Santa checked his naughty and nice list and the children helped him pack his sack.  

Some children exchanged gifts with Santa.  They gave him a sack of coal!

A story was read and then Mrs. Claus put out her cookies to cool.  The children and Santa snuck over to steal a few!

We even had four puppies come to visit Santa!

There was a very special visitor for Santa this year, his first grandchild!

This is such a magical experience for children of all ages.  There is nothing else like it in Eastern North Carolina! It should become a Christmas tradition!  I make a book with the story of the scene with portraits in it.  It is a keepsake to treasure forever.  It is like really walking into the North Pole when the children get here.  Even the parents and grandparents have a blast!

Next year we will have Santa's Reindeer Stable again and then we will have a new scene.  The workshop will be retired for a couple of years.  Starting in January I will be preparing for our new scene.  It takes about a year to collect props and build sets.

Until next year, Charlie & I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!