Kassi R.
Google
I don’t usually leave reviews like this, but this experience was so uncomfortable and strange that I feel other families should be aware.
I took my 3 year old son to see Santa at the Galleria Mall in Henderson. We were both excited. He had been looking forward to telling Santa what he wanted for Christmas, and I was just hoping for a simple, positive memory and a photo.
When it was our turn, Santa initially seemed friendly. My son walked up to him, sat on his lap, and I could see them talking. When it came time for photos, Santa moved my son’s hair behind his ears and turned him so the camera could see his face. Sometimes when my son’s hair is tucked behind his ears it looks a little funny, so I asked if I could fix his hair real quick.
Santa responded with a snarky “yeah, please do.” I brushed it off. As I was fixing his hair, Santa then said, in a rude tone, “well now it’s going to be in his face.” I said I’d move it off to the side and tried to keep things light. Nervous and joking, I said that sometimes he looks like a girl when his hair is behind his ears.
At that point, Santa grabbed a chunk of my son’s hair and said, very rudely, “you don’t think these 9 inches of hair doesn’t make him look like a girl.” I was taken aback, but I brushed it off because I was just trying to get the photo and not cause a scene.
Then Santa continued being rude, repeatedly asking why my son wouldn’t smile. I explained that sometimes he just doesn’t want to smile and that it wasn’t a big deal to me. I didn’t care if he smiled, I just wanted one photo of my son with Santa. He kept pushing it. When I walked closer, he continued saying, “why won’t your kid smile?” At that point I asked, calmly, “sir, is there an issue?” and he responded with, “I’m done with this lecture.”
I was honestly confused and started to walk away. The photographer immediately apologized and asked if I wanted to cancel the photos. I told her no, that it was okay, I still wanted them. I got in line to purchase the photos and casually asked her if this was the same Santa as last year. Santa overheard and chimed in with “nope.” I didn’t respond and just stayed in line.
When it was my turn to check out, Santa suddenly stopped what he was doing and walked over to us while the photographer was trying to help me choose a photo package. There was a full line of families waiting, and he just left his area and walked up. We were both confused. I politely asked if we could finish without Santa standing there.
That’s when he completely flipped out. He became verbally aggressive, called me names, said I was the problem, and caused a scene in front of children and families. I kept repeating that this was highly inappropriate and unprofessional and asked him to please leave. I also told him again how inappropriate it was to speak rudely about a 3 year old’s hair. He responded with “yep, I said it.”
When staff members stepped in and told him this was inappropriate and asked him to go back to his area, he told them he’s a “grown man.” When I asked him to leave, he said, “or what? what are you going to do?”
The photo staff were incredibly kind and apologetic and tried to de-escalate the situation. They told me their manager would be informed when he arrived. Bystanders even came up to hug me because I was visibly shaken and crying.
I promise there is nothing more to this story. This all happened out of nowhere. I was truly just trying to get a photo of my child with Santa. The staff handled it as best they could, but Santa’s behavior was completely unacceptable for a family holiday environment. I really hope management takes this seriously
