FAQ - In-Home Visits

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What can I expect from an in-home visit?

In-home visits are a highly personal and intimate way for us to bring the joy and magic of Christmas straight to you and your family in your own home. After you book a home visit, we'll be sure to follow up with you via email and gather more details about you and your family. We'll ask you to provide the names and ages of the children who will be present along with a bit of information about each child. We especially want to know one or two things each child has accomplished, done well, or shown improvement in over the past year. We'll also want to know any personal stories or special moments you would like to share and any other details or requests you have that will help us make the visit extra special.

Before we arrive, we ask that you read our tips for a magical visit. This helps both us and you deliver the best experience possible!

The visit itself typically starts with Santa and Mrs. Claus' big entrance and briefly meeting everyone. Before we meet with each child individually, we'll first ask if the children have any questions about us, our village at the North Pole, the elves, our reindeer, etc. that we can answer as a group, as typically children share some of the same questions. This might involve a fun story (ever hear of Tiny the Christmas Elf?) or a special prop we've brought along. We'll then meet with each child individually to make sure they have the opportunity to hear Santa ask that most magical of questions: "What would you like for Christmas?" Plan on 2-3 minutes per child as an average. After meeting with the children, we'll make ourselves available for photos. As a final wrap-up, we suggest a reading of "The Night Before Christmas". If you prefer, we can instead do a reading of "Twas the Evening of Christmas", which is about the birth of Jesus.

We'll also happily pass out any gifts you provide to us ahead of time. We have a few rules about that -- see our page on tips for a magical visit.

The important thing is that Santa and Mrs. Claus leave on a high note and don't overstay their welcome. Our departure is a great time for families to transition into their own special holiday traditions!

How long does an in-home visit last?

Our base visit includes a range of time from a half hour up to one full hour. For most families, this is sufficient, and the average length of the visit itself is typically somewhere between 30-40 minutes. However, because every visit is personal and unique, we like to allow for a bit of extra time -- especially helpful if we have a group of very inquisitive children with plenty of questions!

For larger groups and multiple families, we suggest you consider booking an additional half hour to make sure we have ample time to greet everyone and spend enough time with all of the children individually.

My child's Elf on a Shelf has lost its magic or doesn't feel well. Can you help us while you're here?

We sure can -- it's one of Mrs. Claus' specialties! She has her own vial of magic elf dust to restore an elf's lost magic or make it feel better if it's been feeling a bit under the weather. And when children put on our special gloves created by our elven knitters back in Santa's Village, they can handle their elf without disturbing its magic!

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