Why is anyone surprised when a child loses his or her cool when meeting Santa Claus for the first time? Sure, the old man takes requests, but he also has a beard so thick you can’t see most of his face, he wears a blood-red suit and he lives at the mall.

If you have a photo of a child, vintage or modern, who was none too happy to meet Santa, submit it to [email protected]. Please include the child’s name, age and city, town or village. We’ll publish some of the best in our Dec. 23 issue and online.

Photo by Rachel Gardner/Flickr

Behind The Story

Type: News

News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

Articles attributed to "staff" are written by the editor or a senior editor. This is typically because they are brief items based on a single source, such as a press release, or there are multiple contributors, such as a collection of photos.