Booking for Santa photo sessions at Holiday Magic Studios in Fresno opens on Friday, October 31. The studio, located in River Park, allows people and their pets to take photos with Santa. Customers are encouraged to wear holiday-themed outfits and can bring a variety of pets.
CEO Nico DeYoung said, “We’ve had a very wide variety of animals come into the studio. We do see lots of adults with a pet. Then you’ll see the whole family come in and they’re all wearing matching pajamas, and they’ve got their chocolate lab with them and the chocolate lab’s wearing matching pajamas as well.”
Holiday Magic Studios began operations in the 1990s after River Park approached Peter DeYoung, then-president of Alliance Advertising & Public Relations, about offering Santa photos at the shopping center. Peter DeYoung remains a partner while his son Nico leads the company today.
“When it started, it was just Santa in a rented sleigh with a pop-up tent in front of the IMAX movie theater,” Nico DeYoung said.
The studio now features holiday decorations and uses technology to make visits more convenient. According to DeYoung, “We’ve eliminated the line to wait for Santa. That was the first thing that we tried to tackle with technology. Everyone said, ‘My gosh, I hate waiting an hour in line with a crying child.’ So, we went entirely by reservation.”
Customers book time slots through an online system and receive immediate access to their photos after each session via their accounts on the company website.
“So now people just walk up, they check in at our front door, and within about two or three minutes they should be inside seeing Santa in a private five-minute experience, and then they’re out the exit door and they have their photos in hand,” DeYoung said.
For those who prefer not to pose with Santa, the studio can serve as a backdrop for family portraits without him present.
Holiday Magic Studios has expanded beyond its original Fresno location to include sites in Hanford, Bakersfield, and Palo Alto.
The business also runs the Million Magic Moments Campaign which works with organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys & Girls Clubs, Toys for Tots, and Make-A-Wish Foundation. The campaign provides 300 free photo sessions for children in Fresno who might not otherwise have this opportunity. Through sponsorships, Holiday Magic Studios aims to extend this initiative nationwide.
More information is available at holidaymagicstudios.com.
