Santa photos without Santa

I took Astrid to 7th & Fig in Downtown LA to get her Santa photos, but Santa wasn't there. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because 1) Astrid is terrified of Santa Claus, and 2) the Christmas set design was there and I could take all the photos I wanted of Astrid without Santa.

On the way down there Astrid kept wanting to take off her "Christmas shoes" (a pair of soft, black leather dress shoes I purchased for her Santa photos). Why? Because Astrid thought if she didn't have her Christmas shoes on, she'd be able to get out of seeing Santa. Afterwards, when she realized there was no Santa ("Santa Claus at lunch eating," she said.) she absolutely loved her shoes and did not want to take them off.







See Astrid's 1st year Santa pics here, taken on Christmas Eve 2005, when she was just 8 months old.

The following year (2006) I was swamped and planned on getting her Santa pics done after Christmas. Well...duh!...everyone knows Santa goes back to the North Pole after Christmas.

No Santa pics again in 2007, because Astrid is terrified of Santa. A friend of mine with 2 older kids said she took a reprieve from Santa pics for a couple years between 2 and 3 until her kids got over their fear of Santa. That may be just want we have to do. Skip this year and next year in 2008, (hopefully!) she won't be afraid of Santa anymore.