Welcome to the most wonderful time of the year! Besides the pressure to find the perfect gift for loved ones, friends, teachers, babysitters, tutors, trainers . . . there’s one more thing some of us have to do—visit Santa.

Yes, that’s right.  It is time for the annual trip to the mall or your local park where you and your children have the joy of waiting in a long line to visit with a jolly man in a red suit, aka Santa.

For most parents, this is one of the most memorable and frustrating experiences you have each and every holiday season. There’s usually drama involved in picking out the perfect outfit, massive frustration experienced waiting in the never-ending line and then sheer terror felt when it is your turn to visit with Santa.  And, then, after all of this, if your child isn’t crying in fear of the big man in the red suit, they inevitably whisper in your ear, “What should I say to him?”

To help all parents combat and answer this predictable but dreaded question, we’d like to offer some Tips for The Santa Experience. We’ve divided this into pre-visit and visit so it’s easy to follow: