Your session will be a private session with Santa at his workshop that lasts 20 minutes and includes 8 digital images!

Each session is for your immediate children only. If you would like a picture with cousins, grandchildren, family friends, or anyone outside of your immediate family, they will need to schedule their own session right before or after yours.

Light editing is included with this session! Please keep in mind that we are there to capture the moments of your child with Santa. Any additional advanced editing requests such as: slimming, head swaps, removing of acne, scars or scrapes, etc. will be subject to an additional $25 fee per image.

We try to keep the look of Santa’s workshop consistent each year as to not confuse the children. However, we do like to occasionally mix up the colors and change out certain aspects of the set to Santa’s Cottage each year and to add fun and interactive moments with Santa! Because we occasionally change up the set, Alicia’s Photography does not guarantee any particular sets or shots within your session.  

The Santa Experience will be taking place at Santa’s Cottage which is in Warrenville, IL. (two blocks north of the Naperville border)

The address can be found in your client portal once you finish booking! We will also send out an email with any additional information before your session.

All final payments for Santa Sessions will be due by the first week of October. You will receive an email reminder when the remaining balance of your session is due. You can pay your remaining balance by following the link in the reminder email.

If your remaining balance for your Santa session is not paid for by the due date, we will release your appointment time to someone on our waiting list.

The Santa Experience is considered an event that we are holding with specific dates and times that we have reserved with Santa. Please know that if you decide to cancel your appointment for any reason or if you miss your appointment, all fees paid are non-refundable. If you decide to cancel prior to making your final payment, please know that your $35 deposit is non-refundable. Once you pay for the final balance of your Santa Session, your session is no longer refundable.

This session takes place indoors only, however its always a good idea to dress your kids appropriately for the weather!

Please arrive no earlier than 5 minutes before your session time. Our Santa sessions are booked back-to-back and you will be asked to wait in your car until someone comes to get you for your session. – More details on parking and what to do when you arrive will be emailed before your session. If you are late to your appointment, this will cut into your session time. If you are more than 10 minutes late to your appointment, we will not move forward with your session and you will forfeit your appointment time.

Children are more likely to become grouchy if they are fussed with too much before the session. There will be no bathrooms or places to change your child and you will be asked to wait in your car until it is your turn for your pictures. Whether or not you change your child in your car when you arrive is up to you, however, we ask that you please have your kids fully dressed and ready to go in their outfits prior to your session to keep everything running in a timely manner! If your child is not dressed and ready to go when we are ready for you, this will cut into our appointment time.

Parents are more than welcome to hop in for a family picture! If you want pictures with your family on our set with or without Santa in the pictures, there is an additional $50 fee. If you wish to add a family picture to your session, you can give our studio a call and let us know that you would like it added to your final invoice if you didn’t already add that to your booking! The family picture add on is limited to two parent/guardians. We do not allow extended families to be in the pictures – If you are more interested in family pictures you can check out all the amazing family holiday mini sessions our studio has to offer here.

Family pictures require more time and effort selecting and editing the images. Even with this additional fee, you are receiving family pictures and pictures with Santa for less than what we charge for our normal family sessions.

These sessions really are focused on the kids and capturing them visiting with Santa. If you are more interested in family pictures you can check out all the amazing family holiday mini sessions our studio has to offer here.

No, cameras and video cameras are not allowed in shooting area. You are paying to have pictures of your kids professionally taken of them with Santa, we want you to enjoy the moment without having to look through a lens! This can also be a distraction to the kids and the photographer.

We love dogs, we really do, however, as much as we love visiting with your beloved pups, Santa sessions are one of the few sessions that we do not allow dogs or animals. If you would like to book a session where you can include that four-legged family member, check out our holiday minis here!

If your child is feeling ill, we ask that you please be respectful to Santa, our staff, and our other clients and do not come to your Santa session. We will do our best to try and reschedule your session if something becomes available but we cannot guarantee it. We require that you notify us immediately once your family member is feeling ill. Last minute notifications will not be rescheduled.

Alicia has 30 years of experience photographing children and has a few tricks up her sleeve in order to insure that she is able to capture at least a few beautiful images. With that being said, there is never a guarantee that a child might melt down and make it extremely difficult to capture those beautiful images that you dreamed of. But please rest assured that Alicia will do everything in her power to capture something magical even if that includes hiding Santa in the background of an image.

All ages are wonderful and it always depends on the child. Over the years, we have noticed that anywhere between 8 months old to 2 ½ years of age can be difficult to capture images sitting next to Santa because of stranger danger and separation anxiety but if you are willing to let Alicia get creative, we have our ways of getting that perfect image for their age.

It’s always best to prepare the littlest visitors ( 1-3 yrs. of age) by showing them pictures of Santa and reading stories about him for weeks prior. If you have already had a session with Santa, it’s best to be showing them the previous years pictures of them with Santa so that they are reminded of how much fun he is. We also suggest that the day of the session, you DO NOT talk too much about seeing Santa so as not to create added anxiety. Especially if the child/children are between the ages of 1- 3 years of age. That way if we need to hide Santa, they are not feeling anxiety that he will be showing up at any second. We want them as relaxed as possible.