**This post has been sponsored by Ivey Photography to bring you this experience. All opinions are 100% our own!**
The holidays are almost here. Can you believe it? I already have friends preparing their holiday cards and most of my shopping has been done (#winning).
My family decided to do something extra special this year. We have a four-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl and thought it was time for them to really get the joy of the holidays and Santa Claus, so we booked a Storybook Santa Experience with Ivey Photography. I have heard of Ivey for about two years now and decided that this was the year. This is the year my kids are the right age. This is the year I wanted something special for my family. If not now, then when?
The Storybook Santa Experience is a private, one-hour, interactive experience with Santa Claus. Your child meets Santa in a private setting with all of the personal touches of The North Pole-and NOT at a mall.
Now, wait a minute. Let’s back this up. This is not just a photo with Santa. This is not simply a special photo with Santa. This is NOT a mall Santa. This is an hour-long experience and a memory you (and the kids!) will cherish forever. Ivey Photography has selected the most genuine professional Santa to give your kids the most authentic experience money can buy. Your child WILL believe in Santa, and you will, too.
So, here’s how it works. Once I booked my session, I received an email from the studio with all the details. I’m a crazy planner so the email laid out everything I need to know, what to bring and expect and pricing of products and packages.
Ahead of photo time, I bought special holiday pajamas. Plain, yet classic pj’s from Smocked Auctions that won’t date the photo (not the batman and unicorn pajamas that my kids usually wear). I also had my mom help find some of our classic family “heirlooms” that would look beautiful in the photos. We chose my mom’s stuffed animal from when she was a kid and some old trucks that my granddad gave my son. These trucks are almost 75 years old! My husband made these little derby cars when he was in elementary school that we’d been saving for our son, so we brought those too!
We arrived at the studio, put on the kid’s pajamas and chatted with Mrs. Claus until it was time to wake Santa up from his nap. Mrs. Claus and my kids tiptoed into Santa’s workshop to wake him up. This Santa is the REAL DEAL- no joke. If you don’t believe in Santa, you will after seeing this one. Then, Santa and the kids talked about the North Pole, they found their names on his nice list, read a book, decorated a tree and even drank milk and ate cookies together!
It’s such a magical experience and you feel this nostalgia that honestly, you haven’t felt since you were a kid. It sounds a little corny, but it’s so hard to put words on the feelings you have when you are at Ivey.
The look on my kids’ faces was priceless. I experienced the purest joy when I saw the awe in their eyes of meeting the REAL Santa. The look of pure innocence and belief had me tearing up every 5 minutes, I swear. I laughed. I cried. It was phenomenal.
The studio will set up a time with you a few days after your session to go over your proofs and the products they offer. They offer fine art wall portraits, hand-painted canvases, Christmas cards, storybooks and other gift items. These are timeless, hand-finished art pieces. I now have my holiday gifts for family and in-laws. Win win!
I’d highly recommend going into their studio in Midlothian, but if you can’t, you can do it all by phone. They’ll do a screen share to show you all of your images and talk through each product, size, pros and cons and pricing. There were a couple of pictures that I thought Olivia was phenomenal and Mason wasn’t quite on his A-game. They can swap out a picture of one kid and Photoshop it in the picture with the other kid! One photo I was obsessed with, but Olivia’s dress was up over her knees, so they edited the photo to make the dress look like it should. This is how you can ensure you have only the best photos.
If you truly want a magical, nostalgic and memorable holiday season for your kids, the Storybook Santa Experience is really the only way to go (IMO). They are booking up now with only a few spots left, so head to their website, signup and get ready to believe in Santa again.
They have locations in Richardson and Midlothian.
WEBSITE :: FACEBOOK :: INSTAGRAM :: TWITTER
