01 — Book the best time + location for your family

Think about what timing works best for your crew. If your kids have sport, will it be better to come before or after? With little ones, take into account their nap times (they’ll let you know if they’re tired!). Are you early risers or prefer a sleep in? A happy, relaxed family that times their photos well will produce the best smiles!

If there are multiple Santas locations in your area, double check the one you selected is dog-friendly if bringing your pup. Take into account parking availability, proximity to home and surrounding amenities such as cafes (if you need your caffeine fix) and lunch spots if you’ll hang around for a bite to eat after.

02 — Plan your outfits

We’ve seen some incredible outfits over the years - a little planning can go a long way! Here are a few hot tips when choosing what to wear:

• Ensure outfits are weather appropriate. Ugly Christmas jumpers always look amazing, but on sweltering hot days the novelty can wear off fast.

• Encourage your group to wear complimentary colours that don’t clash eg. shades of blue, denim/white etc. Dad’s fluro orange tee may need to stay at home!

• We always love a festive prop or costume! Reindeer ears, Santa hats and matching PJs have been firm favourites over the years.

03 — Come to the beach prepared

While we make every effort to run to a strict 5 minute schedule for each family, the combo of kids/dogs/weather/life occasionally throws it out. Although we’ll have a few supplies on hand, we suggest packing the following to ensure the best experience possible:

• Snacks to avoid hangry kids and parents, plus plenty of water for both humans and dogs

• Sunnies for ALL members of the family, not just the adults! Kids can get quite upset when it’s too glarey and we want to avoid squinting

• Hair elastics to tie hair back if the wind picks up (which it can often do out of the blue on the coast)

• Sun protection including suncream and hats

• Emergency outfit changes - kids have a knack for getting wet, spilling stuff down their front and rolling in the sand right before photos!

04 — Relax and enjoy it!

We understand how stressful it can be getting the whole family dressed and down to the beach, especially in the thick of the silly season.

Our biggest tip is to just go with the flow as much as possible! It won’t be a perfectly styled shoot, as there are too many variables (kids, weather, dogs, public beach etc). We want you to have fun with your pics, soak up the beautiful surroundings and capture some great memories with your family. Come prepared and enjoy the experience!