Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in Philadelphia, PA

It's a holiday tradition; dress up your kids and take them to sit on Santa's lap for an annual family photo. It's kind of ironic; there are no other circumstances in which you would not only allow but actually encourage your child to clamber on to a strangers lap! But each year, the malls are full of men playing Santa to the delight of children and parents.

Nearly every local mall in the Philadelphia area--and there are a LOT of them--has a Santa. You can't go wrong with almost any of them; I don't know if it's because we're in a major metropolitan area or what, but most have real beards, real pink cheeks, and real sparkling eyes.

In our family, for the three Christmas holidays my daughter's been around, we head out to the King of Prussia Mall for our annual photo. The first year we went, my daughter was only six months old, and she gazed upon Santa as if he were the most fascinating person in the world. The second year, she cried. This year? Well, you judge:




Yeah, not so much.

Anyway.

Here are the best local Santas:

1. King of Prussia Mall, the Plaza. NOT The Court. While the Santa at The Court is great, the wonderful Santa you see above is only at The Plaza half of the mall. Oh, and just so you know: we take our own photo each year. We never buy the packages. This is "discouraged" but not forbidden. Saves a TON of cash.

2. Cherry Hill Mall. This Santa looks pretty great too!

3. The Gallery Mall: This Center City mall offers a great Santa too, but here is where the lines might be tough to take.

Here is how my husband and I make the process bearable.

�?� We go during the week, during the day, RIGHT AFTER THANKSGIVING. At this point the lines aren't too long, and if you go in the early afternoon (up until 5:30 or so when most Santa's take a break), you can often get in and out super fast.

�?� One of us waits in line, while the other entertains the kiddo. My daughter and I rode a nearby escalator for twenty minutes (don't you remember being a kid and wanting to just ride them over and over?) when we timed it badly this year and arrived at the dinner hour. We got some glares, but I made sure to leave my husband with the stroller so they wouldn't think he was just some weird guy in line.

�?� I'll say it again; we always bring our own camera, and take our own photos. They do frown on this, but if you catch them when they are either super busy or really slow, they don't really mind too much. Plus, the teenage girls working the cameras will be replaced by new ones next year, so you have no need to make a good impression. Heh.