Kids and Santa Claus appropriately go together like gifts under a Christmas tree.

Most kids who have been pre-prepped (by their parents) about Santa Claus are completely in awe of this bearded fat man dressed in red and eagerly go to see him.

Then there are the kids who haven’t been told much about Santa…but parents drag ‘em to the malls to see him anyway…thinking they’re going to be excited. But to these uninformed children, Santa is one huge scary guy, like Pennywise the Clown in “It”.

If a kid isn’t told for at least a whole year what Santa does, he/she will freak out. You’ve seen the pictures: kids on Santa’s lap crying, screaming for mommy, unbridled fear on their faces, eyes bulging out as wide as their screaming mouths, and my favorite: Santa trying to hang onto these kids as they struggle to get off Santa’s lap with their shirts going over their heads. And every now and then you’ll catch a glimpse of mom standing off to the side with a wide grin on her face while her child has a toddler heart attack due to the frightening, looming image of a monstrously fat man attempting to hold him/her on his lap. These are the kids who probably grow up to be afraid of clowns.

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Yeah, Santa can be frightening.....and some of the old Santa Clauses from over 100 years ago are VERY scary-looking, as you'll witness in the photo gallery below.

But wise parents spend a good part of the year between a child’s first and second birthday, relating stories of Santa bringing toys to all the girls and boys every year, the magical flying reindeer, and reading them “The Night Before Christmas” a few times. By the time the kid is ready to meet Santa, he/she is simply open-mouthed awestruck by the sight of this jolly old elf.

The photo gallery below shows various kids – happy and crying - with Santa, pictures of some really Creepy Clauses, and other variants of Mr. Claus. Maybe some of these will stir your recollections of meeting – or avoiding – Santa for the first time!

Kids With Santa and Creepy Clauses

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