Last weekend our family had a dental appointment with Santa. Wait, what?!

T got to see his buddy L at the dentist Saturday during his visit with Santa.

Yes, that’s right. This year, we changed it up and took T to see Santa at the dentist. Each year, Emigh Dental Care in Long Beach (CA) holds a special holiday event in their offices for their clients and customers where families can stop in, see the Big Guy, and make a craft or two together afterward. There’s even a nice spread of light snacks and cookies for all to enjoy.

Don’t eat all the cookies, T!

Wait, cookies at the dentist?! Well, at least you can brush your teeth afterward, right?

T has his list in hand ready for Santa!

Santa looks over T’s list. Santa then took it from him so that he has it for reference when he gets back to the North Pole to let his elves there know exactly what they need to make for T. That’s what T said he kept it for anyway!

T had a blast. He came with his list in hand ready to let the Man in Red know exactly what it is he wants for Christmas. Along with a slew of LEGO- and Playmobil-related items, he had a special line-item for “anything else you think I would like.” How considerate of you, T!

T peeking out for a photo during craft time at Emigh Dental Care’s annual Santa event.

I helped T with the glue portion of his frame craft.

Say Cheese… and Santa Claus!

Kids then could take a complimentary photo with Mr. Ho-Ho-Ho, which was printed out on-site so kids could make a craft with it afterward. Santa even brought in a few elves to assist with facilitating the kids through Santaland and onto the crafting area, and those same kind elves even helped put the finishing touches on the kids’ crafts (homemade picture frame ornaments).

Clients of Emigh Dental Care got their craft on at the office’s annual holiday visit with Santa Claus.

A very jolly and proud T shows off his picture with Santa in the frame he made.

C and I were so glad we made time for this festive, family-friendly event. At first we were just happy to have been spared a visit to the mall on a holiday weekend to track Santa down for a photo opp (and not a free one at that either!). However, after attending this event for the first time, our family was very grateful we got in on the jolly good times. While small and simple (we were only there maybe 20-30 minutes tops), again as I mentioned Monday, it just doesn’t take much to keep the kids (and parents) happy at the holidays. And in this case, what a wonderful way to make sure that kids don’t fear the dentist’s office either!

Such a happy and welcoming elf! Thanks again to Emigh Dental Care for a lovely holiday event!

So perhaps there’s something to Hermey the Elf wanting to be a dentist after all!

What special events are your local businesses hosting this holiday season? Please post your family-friendly finds here!

Special thanks to our friends and family dentist Dr. P. Emigh (elf by weekend, professional dentist otherwise), along with his wife Miss A (also in the role of elf, and dental hygienist most weekdays) and their staff and additional family professionals for hosting such a fun Saturday morning! And RMT’ers, if you’re looking for a great dentist for the entire family in the Long Beach (CA) area, please check out Emigh Dental Care (they’re on Facebook also).