Will McBrien is a cherub-cheeked infant who loves to smile. “This kid never cries,” was the refrain his relatives offered just before plopping the 11-month-old onto Santa Claus’s lap at the Old Mill District’s Santa Land last week.

But as soon as Will was faced with Old Saint Nick, his dimpled face grimaced. When his mom released him to face Santa alone, Will let out a giant cry.

The staff members worked hard to get Will to smile, trying different techniques, and his mom, Kate McBrien, of Bend, coached him from the sidelines, but to no avail. But the plaintive cries were somehow sweet and cute — the mild freak out was something the adults laughed and cooed over.

As soon as the session with Santa concluded, Will was back to smiling.

Afterward, McBrien said, “I expected that.” She wanted a picture as a memento to remember Will’s first Christmas and, smiling slyly, said she hopes to use the photo to embarrass him and his girlfriends when he is in high school.

And so it goes.

Each year, thousands of parents bring children to meet Santa, with visions of a sweet smiling child gazing fondly at Father Christmas. Instead of grinning for the camera, however, many youngsters end up melting down. But some parents don’t mind — the meltdown makes a great memory.

A’Leah Knight, of YPD events, has been coordinating photos with Santa for several years. She estimates about 30 percent of the hundreds of children who visit Santa end up having some kind of freak out — and almost all of those kids are between the ages of 9 months and 3 years old.

So why do parents bring kids to see Santa? Knight believes that, whether kids are melting down or smiling like angels, there’s some “magic and happiness” that goes along with seeing Santa. “It brings them joy,” Knight said.

Santa Land photographer Karen Cammack had a slightly different take. “It’s the one place parents can laugh hysterically while their child is screaming.” Most parents, she said, “all sit and clap and think it’s funny while the child is turning purple.”

And it is funny for most parents — Cammack and Knight estimate only a handful of parents become upset when their kids are upset. Most recognize it as a blip of fear quickly erased, and the photos capturing the visit become hilarious mementos.

Kids hate Santa

Andrew and Filaree Way had what they thought was a hilarious photograph of their two kids with Santa. Their oldest, Holden, is contentedly holding candy canes while sitting on Santa’s lap, but their youngest, Tyne, is absolutely losing it. The photo from 2010 cracked them up and drew a huge response from family and friends on Facebook.

Andrew Way thought the experience must be universal, so he decided to create a website dedicated to photo opportunities with Santa that didn’t go well called Kids Hate Santa (www.kidshatesanta.com). The website encourages parents to, “Send Me Your Teary-Eyed Screamers, Your Terrified Progeny.” Way writes a sentence or two about each photograph submitted, poking fun at the decor or Santa’s lackluster beard.

Way says the site generates a lot of traffic — starting in late November and running through Christmas. “There’s a bunch of people who depend on it for their December amusement.”

Besides tickling funny bones, Kids Hate Santa also does some good. Way was connected with a company that allowed him to generate funds for charity with each mouse click (they helped buy books for a school in Kenya one year, gave money to the American Cancer Society another year). The service is no longer available, but Way is looking into figuring out how to do something similar with the site next year.

Way thinks the tradition of visiting Santa is odd. “The whole idea is just warped. You pay someone you don’t know and stick kids on their laps,” said Way. “It’s a flawed concept.”

But the results can be hilarious. He says they get the picture of their two kids out every year and they laugh “really hard and a lot.”

For Lexie Comfort, Redmond mom of Chad, 5, and Claire, 1, the photos with Santa are a way of preserving memories tinged with tradition and nostalgia.

“It makes great memories whether they are crying, smiling or yawning,” Comfort said.

Other mishaps

Visits to Santa can create all kinds of blunders, beyond just a crying child. Knight explains the most common mishap involves Santa’s hair and beard. Children sometimes try to pull the beard off Santa’s face. Othertimes, Santa’s fake belly starts to slide out of his suit. Knight says she makes all of the volunteer Santas at the Old Mill know to hold onto squirmy kids really tight because one year a youngster fell on the floor.

Knight say some kids also ask prying questions — or notice Santa looks different than he did last year. Sometimes kids in line will start saying, “Santa’s not real!”

Cammack recalls one child who would not take his finger out of his nose, despite repeated pleas from parents and staff. But she says the parents weren’t bothered. “They thought it was hilarious,” Cammack said. Likely the boy is the one who will regret it down the road when the photo gets passed around every Christmas.

Richard DeWilde is one of the volunteer Santas at the Old Mill and he has been doing it for years. He says kids can be quite clever and make him think on his feet. One girl told him his voice sounded different than last year. DeWilde replied, “I had a cold last year.” Another kid asked him why he wore gloves; DeWilde replied, “Because it’s cold at the North Pole.” One little boy this year didn’t want to leave Santa’s play area and kept standing in the middle of other people’s portraits.

DeWilde thinks parents can help the experience sometimes. The “more parents push them or demand ‘You be a big boy,’ the worse it usually is for the kids.”

Despite the freak outs and the mishaps, DeWilde enjoys his stints as Santa. “Sometimes it’s hard, but there are those times when kids really believe it’s Santa. It really warms your heart.”

Want to share your funny picture with Santa? Visit www.bendbulletin.com/scarysanta