Say Cheese! 13 Photo-Worthy Santas Worth the Wait

Whatever your tradition is---there are plenty of options (and plenty of St. Nicks) to choose from this year. Here are 13 Seattle-area standouts.

By Erin Cranston November 1, 2012

We parents make the holidays so difficult sometimes, whether it’s dressing the kiddos up in scratchy Christmas outfits, making them wait in long lines for hours, or insisting they sit on some bearded dude’s lap just so we can get our treasured Santa photo. Do they really remember that we go to the same Santa every year? Probably not, but it sure makes for a seriously awesome Christmas tradition. To help minimize the Santa photo stress, we’ve rounded up the best places to seek out your St. Nick nirvana. Choosing the least meltdown-inducing matching Christmas sweaters for your mini-mes? That one’s up to you.

Seeing is Believing: Macy’s SantaLand

Santa Claus makes his home on the 6th floor of the downtown Seattle Macy’s, complete with everything you’d expect: elves, an enchanted holiday wonderland, and a special place to mail your Santa letters. Macy’s would not publically comment on whether there was more than one Santa, if their Santa has a real beard, or if they have any ethnic or multilingual Santas on the schedule… so you’ll just have to see for yourself. “Officially, there is only one Santa,” the spokesperson said. (David Sedaris’ famous SantaLand Diaries essay comes to mind here). A wide assortment of digital photography packages are available and will be ready to take home immediately.

Dates: November 29 – December 24

1601 Third Avenue
Seattle, Wa 98101
206-506-6000

Let us know where you take the kiddos for Santa photos every year in a comment below!

–Erin Cranston & Allison Ellis

Photos credits: Fred Jala via Flickr, Katie Christiansen, Space Needle Facebook page, santaphotos.com, Erin Cranston, Heidi Larsen, Danielle Dolbec, Janine Vazquez, Christmas Creek Farm website and Arin Winsor, Wing Luke Museum Facebook page