A trip to Santa HQ
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I don't know how many Christmases we have left that Max will be willing to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what he wants for Christmas, but I'm not doing anything to encourage him to stop! As long as he's willing, we'll make the trek to see the big guy and tell him our greatest holiday desires (within reason, of course) This year, we headed out to the Vintage Faire mall in Modesto to experience HGTV's Santa HQ, and had a great time!
Santa HQ is an interactive activity installation, that helps take the pain out of waiting in line in this busy holiday season. Of course you can make a reservation for your Santa visit, but even so you're bound to spend some time waiting for your turn. The Santa HQ experience helps manage little ones patience by offering a variety of Santa and elf-themed activities to do while you wait.
Up first is the Naughty or Nice Meter; Max had a moment of worry where he wasn't sure where he'd land, but thankfully his name popped up on the Nice list after just a moment. Whew!
After that, we stepped inside the Elf Academy to have Max's Elf-ID card made, which they send via email so you can print when you get home. There's the opportunity to input your child's personal info, including a special magic power, so be sure to document this moment in time!
Next up was the Elf Portal, which magically puts your child's face on a variety of elf bodies on a screen, for an “Elfie Selfie”. Again, you can have these images emailed to you so you can print them at home. Max makes a handsome elf, don't you think?
There are two photo taking stations in the experience; up first is a plain holiday themed one. We plopped Max down to smile for the camera, but the photographer invited us to be in it as well. I wish I'd known, and I would have dressed more appropriately for photos! So consider yourself warned!
And finally, FINALLY, we made it to the boss man himself, Santa.
Max had a few moments to chat and fistbump with Santa, they snapped a handful of photos, and we were on our way. And so, allow me to present Max's official 2018 Santa photo!
We really enjoyed this upgraded Santa experience, with all the fun activities. Check out Santa HQ to make your reservations and find a location near you!
