'I'm calling it. Santa photos are a total rip-off'

"Am I the only person who finds this utterly insane? It’s a total rip-off." Would you pay this much for a digital file?

Dominique Birouste

2 min read

December 7, 2023 - 2:33PM

Things to do

Don't miss out on the headlines from Things to do. Followed categories will be added to My News.

Just as Mariah Carey and Michael Buble defrost from their Christmas caves, my excitement for the silly season is at an all-time high, especially as a mum.

I had my daughter on the 7th of December last year, so while this Christmas technically won’t be her first, she wasn’t even three weeks old, and I was totally in the newborn bubble to get the full hype out of it.

Despite this whirlwind time of not knowing what day it was or the last time I washed my hair, I remember telling my husband we had to have a Santa photo no matter what.

So off we went, ten days postpartum, to the closest location where we could sit with jolly St Nick.

Everybody say cheese! Source: Supplied

It took us longer to get the car seat out of the car than we spent taking the photo, but I’m so glad we have it as a memento.

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this.

Are you serious?

Fast forward a year, and it’s time to dress her up in something too cute to visit Santa again.

Wait… $70 for a Santa photo at The Grounds?

Hang on… you have to book a $95 per adult and $75 per child aged 1-12 for high tea to get even a glimpse of Santa at The Tea Room in Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building?

I’m not going to pretend I totally understand inflation, but I do know everything costs more now, but paying more than $20 for a Santa photo is ludicrous to me.

I love looking back at these Santa photos with my sister and I want to do the same with my kids. Source: Supplied

I jumped on to check out my local Westfield and saw the bookings are made in four-minute intervals, with the cheapest option costing $24.95 for one printout.

Let’s do some basic maths here.

Santa will see 15 kids at a minimum of $24.95 a pop in one hour.

This means the North Pole crew will be racking in over $350 an hour, and that’s just the minimum package, which, to be honest, we all want the package with the digital file to upload to the gram, which will cost you $40.95 for one electronic photo!

What other mums said

Am I the only person who finds this utterly insane?

I reached out to a couple of mum friends to check if I was overreacting (it happens sometimes), and it appears I’m not alone.

“It’s a total rip-off,” said one friend. “Especially given you only get four minutes with the guy!”

Another mum told me, "Definitely WAAAAAY too expensive these days!

"And then you've got all the grandmas asking for one too, so you have to get the bigger package to save you printing them out yourself!"

"What a scam," messaged another.

A new business idea?

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it can be a tough gig at times to listen to kids tell you they want a Barbie dreamhouse and Hotwheels rollercoaster, but come on!

Perhaps I spruce up my garage and host my own Christmas photo sessions because there’s money to be made in the Santa photo industry.