Santa Claus is coming to town! And the man in the big red suit has already agreed to come to your ho-ho-holiday event. Let's face it, you have plenty to plan during the pre-Christmas season. Adding some serious organization for a breakfast with Santa to everything that's already on your to-do list may seem kind of overwhelming. Don't stress, we've got you covered.
Party ideas don't just happen and a Christmas breakfast won't plan itself. Whether this is your first time organizing an event during the holiday season or you're just new to the whole Santa is coming to brunch with the kiddos thing, check out our easy DIY.
Video of the Day
Video of the Day
After all, planning a Santa breakfast for the littles and sharing the proceeds with a charity is sure to score you some "nice list" points with the big guy himself.
Things You'll Need
An event space
Breakfast foods
Lunch foods (if you plan to have a brunch)
Non-alcoholic beverages, such as hot cocoa or orange juice
Tickets
How to put on the best Santa Breakfast event ever:
1. Organize your event team
Organize a team of people to help plan and conduct the event. Pick three to five people who are willing to volunteer their time to make your breakfast with Santa event a complete success.
2. Choose a charity for the Christmas breakfast
Select a charity. You may want to choose a charity that helps underprivileged children. Several of these types of charities operate in numerous states, including KaBOOM!, Locks of Love, Communities in Schools, March of Dimes and Make-a-Wish Foundation.
Tip
Ask your kiddos, the local school or area organizations for charity ideas. You can also choose to support more than one charity and split the funds between two or three options.
3. Select a location for Santa to visit
Choose a location for the event. If you decide to make the food yourself, you and your team can check the availability of spaces in local churches and community centers. The other option is to check local restaurants, cafes and hotels. Given that it is a charitable event, these establishments may want to pitch in their services. After you find a location, decide on the date and time.
Santa is the main event. But your brunch guests will also need something to nosh on during the event. Popular picks include red and green sprinkle donuts, Santa hat shaped cookies, waffles, hot cocoa, orange juice, bagels and plenty of other goodies for the whole family. If you're going with an all-breakfast foods event, set up a pancake breakfast buffet and stock it with flap jacks, syrup, candy cane crumbles, whipped cream, fresh fruit and snowman-esque coconut shreds.
Warning
Avoid high-allergen foods, such as peanuts. Ask guests to alert you or another organizer about other food allergies.
5. Advertise your Santa event
With date, time and location in hand, you and your team can spread the word, find a Santa and a photographer, and start selling tickets. An effective way to market the event is to create your own Facebook page for the breakfast with Santa event. You can input the relevant information and invite your Facebook friends with a few mouse clicks.
The old-fashioned way is to create flyers and hand them out at local stores, schools, churches, libraries and bookstores. Pin them up on public bulletin boards at local grocery stores and laundromats. Also contact local newspapers to post information about the event. Some will typically advertise your Breakfast with Santa for free.
6. Make or purchase the tickets
You and your team can make the tickets by hand or use a drawing program on a computer and print them out. You can also purchase a roll of tickets at a stationery store or order ready-made tickets over the internet.
7. Decorate the Christmas breakfast venue
Deck the halls with...well, boughs of holly. You can also use a Christmas tree as a backdrop for Santa's North Pole setup, strategically place a gingerbread house (or a few!) and add plenty of holiday cheer with Christmas lights, bows, garlands and more!
Tip
You don't have to buy pricey holiday decor. Ask for donations or DIY your own crafty and creative decorations using paper, glitter and glue!
8. Manage the guests and play with the kids
Although the hub of activity will be Santa and the food, you and your team may find a crowd at the door when the event begins. You will need to keep the children entertained while they wait for their time with Santa. Choose two or three activities that will keep the children occupied and make sure to bring any materials you'll need for them. Examples of activities include bubble-blowing, coloring printable pages, finger painting and storytelling.
There are no grinches here. Now you're ready for a Christmas-y good time—and primed to spread the holiday season cheer!