Taking Your Kids To Visit The Mall Santa SUCKS!

Popsugar has put together another one of their trademark lists complete with hilarious GIF images about seeing Santa at the mall.

My mom insists that my sister, brother, and I cart all our children to the mall for one family photo with Santa each year. I'm certain the mall Santa hates us.  6 children all under 5 years old in a photo with a strange fake Santa… now that's a recipe for disaster!

So what can you expect? Here's what will happen:

You silently judge all the moms around you.

Unless you're me, I'm too busy wrangling my hyper 3 year old while simultaneously calming my colicky infant.  I'm probably that mom you're judging.

Then, you have to get in a line that makes security at the airport seem like child's play.

You immediately try to figure out how this must be some kind of mistake.

You overhear an older kid talking trash on Santa.

This is the point where you give his mom an evil glare and start trying to talk over him so your kids won't hear.

Meanwhile, your own kids have no idea what's going on and are looking at you like you've grown a third eyeball.

You eventually arrive at the official entrance only to read the “pricing packages” and learn how much a single photo will cost.

Ouch! They didn't post it online because they know you can't back out after your kid has waited all this time to see Santa.  This had better be the best picture ever!

You realize it's probably best if you just zone out and hand people money when they ask for it.

If you're me, you stopped thinking about how much the holidays cost on December 1st and don't intend to worry about it again until you see your bank statement in January.

At some point, even your kids are over it.  You've come too far to give up now.

In my head, this is the part where I start asking myself why I'm doing this again. Oh yea, Grandma makes us. Thanks Mom.

Just when your kids are next in line, they have to go to the bathroom “so bad.”

Santa motions for your kids to approach, but one decides to have a meltdown instead.

Yep. That's the way it always happens. I wonder who will panic this year.  Last year it was my two year old niece. I'll take bets on it with my brother just to make things more interesting.

In the two-millisecond window allotted for the official photo, you encourage your kids to smile for the camera.

But they insist on being mortally petrified instead.

When it's all over you:

vow never to return again . . . until next year.

Merry Christmas. I'll see you in line at the mall. I'll be the mom with a screaming infant and the toddler running circles around me while squealing at an ear piercing level.

Still not sure what else to expect? Learn what it's like in the complete article from Popsugar.