We Went to HGTV's Santa HQ and Met Santa!

during the holiday season, we always visit Santa Claus and get the kids pictures taken. this year, we headed over to the Los Cerritos Mall to HGTV's Santa HQ to check out their great Santa set-up. HGTV's Santa HQ adds a whole new dimension to the traditional family Santa Claus visit by guiding visitors through an immersive, interactive holiday extravaganza that uses of state-of- the-art digital technology. something that kids today love!

there are 12 Santa's HQ in the United States. here in southern California, you can find one at the Los Cerritos Mall and the Lakewood Center Mall.

we started off our visit with a greeting from some of Santa's elves. they we so sweet and spent extra time playing with the kids. they took them through the Naughty or Nice Meter to see if the boys had been naughty or nice this year. of course they made Santa's nice list....and even saw their names on Santa's interactive Christmas list.

are you on Santa's nice list???

next we headed into Santa's Observatory and got to check out the control panel. what kid doesn't love buttons and gadgets to play with.

then we got to have Elf-Ray Vision! we downloaded the Elf-Ray Vison app on our phone, and the kids got to explore Santa’s Observatory by using the app as special goggles. they got to see secret elf happenings on the walls like presents being shipped and the working gears of the observatory.

other interactive activities at Santa HQ include and Elfie Selfie – where visitors take a selfie and star in their own holiday video, and a Light Show – with more than 10,000 individual holiday lights synchronized to the tune of “Carol of the Bells” to create an illuminated orchestra.

finally, we met the big guy himself....SANTA!!!! we had so much fun getting our photos with Santa. he spent one-on-one time with the boys, and made sure to get a good variety of photos that i could choose from. i loved that he took time to speak to each child individually. also, we got to skip the line because we made a reservation. pretty cool huh! guests can now spend less time waiting in line by making reservation online at Santa HQ from HGTV. you can even pre-pay for your photo package, days or even weeks in advance. you can also opt-in text functionality to send reminders about your Santa photo session reservation.

In the Holiday Spirit of Giving

visitors to Santa HQ will also be able to enjoy the holiday spirit of giving through HGTV’s Help Through Holiday Giving Drive. you can donate an unwrapped toys for local children in need by dropping it in one of the bins at Santa HQ. the toys benefit local organizations like Forgotten Angel Tree, Salvation Army Angel Tree, Toys for Tots, and Spark of Love Stuff a Bus.

the kids and i had such a nice evening at Santa HQ from HGTV. i wasn't expecting our Santa visit to be so special, but with all these special holiday touches and the elves treating my children with love and care, my kids had night to remember. we will be adding HGTV's Santa HQ to our holiday traditions each year!