Melissa Milano Photography · Storybook Santa
This Is the Start of Something Magical.
Give your child a private Christmas experience filled with wonder, and preserve their story in portraits and heirloom artwork you'll treasure for generations.
Explore the Storybook Santa Experience Compare Sessions & Reserve
Our signature · 30-minute Full Storybook Santa Experience
More Than a Visit With Santa. A Story They'll Remember Forever.
Imagine the moment Santa welcomes your child into his Christmas world. A little hesitation becomes a smile. A whispered wish becomes a conversation. A visit filled with Christmas magic.
Thirty minutes to step into the story.
Our Full Storybook Santa Experience is a private, unhurried visit created around your family. There is room for curiosity, quiet moments, and the delightful surprises that happen when children feel free to be themselves.
Their own Golden Ticket
A personalized Golden Ticket invitation begins the excitement before your child even arrives.
Christmas comes alive
Checking the Nice List, exploring Santa's globe, and sharing milk and cookies turn a visit with Santa into a world to explore.
Beautifully coordinated
Coordinated wardrobe options help your children feel part of the story and bring a timeless harmony to their portraits.
Room to feel at home
Shy children have time to settle in, stay close, and warm up to Santa. Every small smile can unfold naturally.
The magic continues afterward
A moment to relive it all.
At your personalized image reveal and ordering appointment, you'll see the expressions and connections you may have missed in the moment. Together, we'll explore the portraits you love and the ways you might choose to enjoy them at home.
For now, let them be little. Let Christmas be magical.
Storybook Albums and other artwork are optional purchases, separate from your session booking. They are not included in the session fee.
Two ways to share the wonder
Choose the Christmas Magic That's Right for Your Family
A little Christmas wonder, with time just for your family. Choose the visit that feels right for your children and the memories you'd love to make.
Our signature experience
Full Storybook Santa Experience
30 private minutes of Christmas wonder
$290
Session fee
The Complete Storybook Santa Experience
Thirty magical minutes for your children to settle in, connect with Santa, and enjoy an unhurried experience filled with genuine smiles, wonder, and beautifully captured memories.
Your experience includes:
- A personalized Golden Ticket mailed from Santa
- A private, unhurried 30-minute visit with Santa
- Magical interactions such as checking the Nice List, exploring Santa's globe, and sharing milk and cookies
- Optional studio pajamas, curated to complement the Christmas scene
- A special gift from Santa
- A personal phone consultation to help prepare for your visit
- A separate image reveal and ordering appointment
Activities may vary according to each child's interests and comfort.
Included image or purchase credit
Your favorite TWO magically edited digital images, or full session-fee credit toward artwork.
Your session includes digital images only, with no additional purchase required. Or, you may choose to apply your session fee toward an artwork purchase instead.
A Little Christmas Magic, Made Just for Them
Express Storybook Santa Experience
15 minutes with Santa
$150
Session fee
A private 15-minute visit filled with personality, connection, and genuine Christmas wonder. We'll guide your children through 6–8 interactive prompts designed to capture their expressions, excitement, and belief in Santa.
Magical moments may include:
- Milk and cookies with Santa
- Checking the Nice List
- A phone call with one of Santa's elves
- A peek inside Santa's toy sack
- Exploring Santa's magical globe
Activities are selected based on the child's interests, comfort, and available session time. Not every activity is included in each Express session.
- Up to 4 siblings per session
- Cousins should book back-to-back sessions
- Separate portrait viewing and ordering appointment
Included image or purchase credit
Your favorite ONE magically edited digital image or a session-fee credit toward artwork.
Your session includes digital images only, with no additional purchase required. Or, you may choose to apply your session fee toward an artwork purchase instead.
Storybook Albums and other artwork are optional purchases, separate from the session fee. An album is not included with booking. If you choose the session-fee credit, it applies toward your purchase in place of the included image option.
Your Christmas Memories, Beautifully Preserved
The magic of your Santa experience doesn't have to live only on your phone.
Imagine a favorite Christmas portrait beautifully framed in your home, a special gift for grandparents, or a keepsake ornament that finds its place on your tree year after year.
Our Christmas collection offers something for every way you'd love to remember these moments:
Your session includes digital portraits, and additional artwork is always optional. There's no minimum artwork purchase.
Choose the memories you love, then decide how you'd like to treasure them.
Explore Our Christmas Artwork & Experience GuideTheir Christmas story · Yours to treasure
The Christmas Magic They Can Hold Onto Forever.
Every Christmas brings its own special moments. The excitement, the stories, the little expressions you never want to forget. A personalized Storybook Album brings those moments together in a beautiful keepsake your family can return to year after year.
After your session, choose your included digital images OR apply your session fee as credit toward an artwork or album purchase. Printed portraits, albums, and keepsakes are available separately.Take a closer look at the actual Limited Edition Storybook Album.
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Our signature recommendation · Most popular Storybook Album
Limited Edition Storybook Album
Starting at $2,190
Their names. Their expressions. Their very own Christmas adventure. A personalized story brings your children's time with Santa to life, ready to be opened and shared together, year after year.
- A personalized story featuring your children's names
- A handcrafted hardcover made to be held and enjoyed
- Thick lay-flat pages that let each moment unfold
- 12 image choices to tell their Christmas story
The ultimate luxury option
Heirloom Storybook Album
$4,750
For families drawn to the art of the book itself. Italian craftsmanship, a leather cover, and a metal inlay create a striking first impression. Velvet endpapers and a matching presentation box make opening their story a beautiful ritual of its own.
Explore the actual Heirloom Storybook Album and its presentation.
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Storybook Albums and other artwork are optional purchases, separate from the Santa session fee. An album is not included with your session booking.
Before your visit
A Little More Christmas Magic, A Few Helpful Answers
What's the difference between Full and Express?
Full offers 30 private minutes with Santa, a personalized Golden Ticket, and thoughtful extras before and during the visit. Express is a shorter, 15-minute interactive Santa experience.
Can siblings come together?
Absolutely! Siblings are welcome to share in the Christmas magic together.
Our Express Session can accommodate up to 4 siblings, while the Full Storybook Experience is recommended for larger immediate families who want more time to enjoy the magic together.
For cousins or multiple households, we recommend booking back-to-back sessions so each family can enjoy their own special time with Santa. Our Storybook experience is thoughtfully designed to bring all participating children into the magic together, with the story unfolding naturally around them.
When time allows, we can also capture a special extended-family portrait toward the end of your session, so everyone can have a beautiful Christmas memory together.
Are Storybook Albums included?
No. Albums and other artwork are optional purchases, separate from the session fee. You'll explore your options at your portrait viewing and ordering appointment.
Do we choose our portraits on the day of the session?
No. A separate portrait reveal and ordering appointment is included in the process.
What if my child is shy around Santa?
We follow each child's comfort level and focus on genuine connection rather than forcing interactions.
Where are the Storybook Santa sessions held, and where should I park?
Sessions take place at Melissa Milano Photography, 106 Mountain Ave, Hackettstown, NJ 07840.
We share a parking lot with David's Country Inn at 314 Main St, Hackettstown. The parking lot is behind their building on Warren Street. Park in that lot, then follow the brick walkway toward the front of the building. You'll see the sign for my studio on your right.
Let their Christmas story begin
Because Christmas Magic Deserves to Last Forever.
There are only so many Christmases when their eyes light up quite like this. When every little detail feels extraordinary, and every moment is filled with wonder. This is one of those Christmases. Let's make it unforgettable.
