It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Somerset Mall, where the center court has been transformed into a nostalgic winter wonderland with a friendly Santa greeting a line of excited children.

What local kids want for Christmas might surprise you. It often surprises their parents, and even the man in red. Every time Santa Claus thinks he’s heard it all, here comes another creative kid.

One pair of ambitious sisters hoped for a very green Christmas. They climbed into Santa’s lap, and politely asked for money. LOTS of money. 

“One of them asked for a thousand dollars,” Santa said. “I told her Santa can’t quite do that. So the other one said, ‘Santa, I’ll settle for six hundred dollars.’ ” 

Santa season at the mall has long been part of the Christmas magic for our community. The festive experience is produced by Angela Vaught Photography, a family-run small business in Pulaski County.

Angela and her daughter, Kade Mincey, have as many Santa stories as the man himself. Year after year, they and their crew share these magical moments with families, watching kids grow up, seeing families change, and documenting it as they go. They laugh along with parents as children toddle up and ask for everything from iPads to puppies.

Kade’s personal favorite was a little boy who asked for a real, working weedeater. He wanted to be like his daddy. Angela remembers another little boy on a mission.

“He asked for 365 boxes of macaroni and cheese for Christmas. This kid really likes mac and cheese! He wanted some for every day of the year,” she said.

There is a thread that winds through most of the requests, however, and it’s one you might not expect.

“Most kids have a big heart. They ask for stuff for others before themselves, like ‘I just want my mom to be happy,’ “ Kade said. “Kids are more humble about it these days, too. They don’t ask for a lot of big things anymore. They ask for little things like chocolate or a squishy.”

But plenty of kids still crawl into Santa's lap and give a long list of must-haves, says Kayla Caldwell, who has worked on Team Santa for years. 

“Only once in a while, we get a kid who will melt your heart into a puddle. It's heartwarming to hear kids say things like, ‘I don't need anything, Santa. I have all I need. I have friends and family who love me,’ “ Kayla said. “I would have to say, the most memorable moment of working with Santa is when a small child told him all he wanted was for his mommy to come home. I reminisced on my own childhood, and my heart broke. My mom did everything she could to make Christmas truly special while we were little, and I can't fathom not having those sweet memories.” 

Generosity of spirit and intent brings even grownups to Santa’s courtyard.

One of Kade’s favorite Santa photos to shoot is of a grandmother who began bringing her grandbabies when they were tiny.

“She was my first-grade teacher. She retired after I went to second grade. Every year she would bring her grandkids. Those kids have not missed a year of doing Santa pictures for her, no matter how old the kids are,” Kade said. The oldest is probably in his 20s. “They’re all big, grown boys now, and they all still huddle up around Santa to take pictures for their grandma.”

Angela smiles every time she thinks of another Santa favorite: a special-needs woman who, at 58, visits Santa every week. Her big brother brings her to the mall throughout the season so she can visit Santa and charm his crew. She always brings him a treat: boxes of Little Debbie Christmas tree cakes. 

There are always smiles and laughter on the Santa set, but there can be tears, too. For every story that makes you laugh, there’s another that will melt your heart.

One little boy’s father came home from the military after losing a leg, and the child asked Santa to bring it back.

Families often come to Santa, seeking a bright spot in what otherwise might be a dim Christmas after a loved one’s death.

Angela recently welcomed a family she’s known for years: a little girl and a teenage boy whose pictures she has taken since they were babies. They came with their mom, who asked Angela to include a framed photo in this year’s picture. Angela was stricken when she saw that it was the woman’s husband. These children had lost their father weeks earlier.

“This hit so hard. I was devastated for them. I knew their pain,” said Angela, who lost her own husband weeks before Christmas fourteen years ago. Her two children weren’t much older than this woman’s when they took a similar picture months after their father’s death.

Behind the scenes

These women and their staff love what they do, and they take pride in it. Angela is immensely proud of her crew, who have become an extended family. Santa’s wife is on the team, as well as other young moms. Two of them, Kayla Caldwell and Kendra Bumgardner, grew up with Kade. Angela was their Girl Scout troop leader before she became their boss years later. They’ve both worked with her for years. The Santas (yes, there’s more than one) are all family, or so close they might as well be.

While the Santa experience is at the mall, it is not a mall production. It’s all done by Angela and her team.

“We are not a big corporation; we are a small business,” Kade explained. “Everybody who works for us is here because we love it. We’ve got babies and we’ve got families, and this is a way to support each other through the holidays.”

Much of the crew works throughout the year as they can, but none are full-time. 

“Mostly they’re stay-at-home mommies who do this on the side. They’ve got babies, and they want to help spoil the babies for Christmas,” Kade said.

“Working with Santa as a mama, to me, is such a joy,” said Kendra. Her young son, Asher, loves thinking she has connections. And she loves seeing other children’s reactions. “It’s so sweet to see the twinkle in a child’s eye when they sit down and get to talk to the big man himself.”

Vaught’s photo studio is year-round, but Christmas . . . well, that’s something extra special.

“We go all out. We get new sets every year. Our Santa suits are tailored, cleaned, and prepped. We start as early as June with planning, shopping, preparing,” Angela said.

Kade says Santa is ingrained in her personality. Her earliest memories are of watching her mother at the mall and helping guests pick pictures from an SD card.

“I don’t even remember life without Santa,” said Kade, who began working at the seasonal event when she was 15. “For most people, Christmas is like a week or two of the year. For us, it was like two months.”

Were other kids jealous?

“I thought it was cool. I didn’t care what anybody else thought,” she laughed.

It’s part of her mother’s personality, too. Angela is widely known throughout Pulaski County as a talented photographer with a sunny disposition. She’s watched half the county grow up through her lens.

“It warms my heart when I see people posting images they love, that I took. And videos. I’m proud to be part of that memory. I look at those and I smile. It’s an inner happy!” she said.

Nowhere is that clearer than Christmastime.

“Christmas is very important to us and our family,” Kade said. “We always want to make magic and memories for people, and we record those moments with pictures.”

Kade is an infinitely cheerful person. Even so, losing her father, Paul Vaught, when she was a teenager made her career particularly poignant. She knew early on what every photo, every memory, means. Let yourself be seen, and build every memory you can with those you love.

“I try to beat this into people’s heads, because it is so important,” said Kade, who’s been known to urge reluctant parents into photos. The perfect outfit, the perfect hairdo—none of that matters. What matters is that you’re there.

Marry (me) Christmas

Last year, it was a couple of grownups whose Christmas list surprised Santa.

He was at Bear Wallow, a Nancy farm that puts on an elaborate holiday lights show each year. Part of Angela’s Santa team is stationed at the farm throughout the season.

Santa was greeting visitors when a man brought his girlfriend to get pictures with Santa. Little did she know, but she was at the top of her boyfriend’s wish list.

“This man asked ME to ask his girlfriend to marry him,” Santa said, chuckling. 

She said yes. 

That engagement was one of a kind, but it usually isn’t Santa who’s surprised. It’s the parents. 

Even if your kid is on the nice list, Santa might know something you don’t.

When Kade’s behind the camera, she tries to slip away for a second and tell the parents what their child asked for. 

“Kids tend not to ask their parents for certain things,” Kade laughed. “They have a whole separate list for Santa that they wouldn’t ask parents for.”

Wads of cash and farm animals might need more magic than most parents can muster up. The man in red doesn’t grant every wish either, though.

Santa’s heart might be overflowing with Christmas spirit, but his wallet isn’t. When children ask for something unrealistic like an iPad—or a thousand dollars—he steers them toward something easier to deliver.

“I just always ask if there’s anything else they’d consider,” he said.

What keeps Santa in the Christmas spirit?

“Bringing joy to the kids, the look on their faces when they come up, that’s special,” Santa said. 

He’s been doing this for years, of course, but being Santa at Somerset Mall is pretty spectacular. He knows so many of the families who come to see him here.

“I get to see the same children in the community grow up year after year,” he said. 

He greets the littlest babies, toddlers and little kids who barely know Santa, bigger kids so excited they forget what to ask for, and young adults who still want to see Santa for old times’ sake.

And every season, there are new mommies and daddies beginning Santa traditions for their young children. 

This year, Megan and Eric Hull bought their infant and toddler. Their oldest daughter was too young to enjoy Santa last year, but this time she knew all about him. They took family photos in Angela’s holiday studio before heading for center court. The mall atmosphere is part of the fun for them.

“Being at the mall is nostalgic for us. People don’t do malls as much these days, but we always enjoy coming here,” Megan said. Seeing Santa is a bonus. “It gives us a whole other reason to come here during the season.”

Kids always leave Santa’s stage happy, even if sometimes they’re a little afraid to speak when they get to the front of the line.

“Even if the child isn’t feeling the visit, we can still typically get beautiful photos,” Kendra said. 

After all, these folks all have littles of their own. They know how it’s done.

“As a mom, making memories with my babies is my very favorite thing to do. One thing we make sure to do each year at Christmastime is make a visit to Santa. My kiddos are always excited and have never been scared,” Kayla said, praying she didn't just jinx it for her littlest this year. “I love the magic of the holiday season, and sharing it with my children makes it much more special.”

So they know that a lot of kids are very nervous and unsure, Kade added.

“We do our best to be happy and welcoming: ‘This is my friend Santa; do you want to come say hi?’ “ she said in a bright voice. “We all try to be upbeat, theatrical, and make it special for the kids. We tell jokes. I tell dad jokes, which the parents get but the kids don’t. My go-to dad joke is, ‘look at Santa—what’s on his nose? What is that? HIS GLASSES!’ That always makes the parents laugh. The kids look up and relax, even the ones who might be too bashful to make eye contact with Santa right away.”

And another Christmas memory is made.