Her daughter said the experience was fun "because you get to sit on his lap and tell him what you want." In her case, that's "a baby kitty and a mommy kitty." Of course, she first had to assure Kris Kringle that she'd been a good girl.

Dena Brewster said her 18-month-old son, Cole, is psyched to see Santa. "I think it's because we make a big production out of it," Brewster said. Still, he may not be as thrilled about Christmas as she was growing up. "I think it's about toys now."

Edgar Mangum, a k a Santa at The Gateway shopping center for the past two years, has his own sure-fire way to measure the mood of the children he sees. He counts his black and blue marks at the end of the day.

"You can always tell the mood of a child by their feet," said Mangum, a retired truck driver and longtime Santa. "If they're really scared, their feet don't move a bit. If they're really excited, I get bruised."

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