How to catch Santa on camera
On Christmas morning, show the kids what the camera saw in the night: Santa kneeling by your own tree, in black and white night footage stamped 11:47 PM on December 24. Here is how to set it up in three steps, in about ten minutes.
Catch Santa in your roomThe elf cam's night camera look is free. Santa in your own room: one free preview a day; the kit is $7.99, one payment.
Step 1: put up the Santa cam
- A few days before Christmas, set an old phone, tablet or webcam on a high shelf in a corner of the room with the tree, pointing at it.
- Tell the kids it is the Santa cam and that it stays on all Christmas Eve night.
- That spot is where you will take the photo from, so the picture matches what the kids expect the camera to see.
Step 2: take the photo on Christmas Eve
- After the kids are asleep, stand where the Santa cam is and take one photo of the room with the tree lights on.
- Leave some open floor in front of the tree: Santa needs room to kneel with his present.
- Keep the tree near the middle of the photo; the editor works on a square from the middle.
Step 3: add Santa and pick the camera
- Upload the photo on the Santa kit page and pick By the tree. Our photo editor adds Santa placing a present, lit by your tree.
- Pick the night camera look for the classic security footage, or the doorbell camera if Santa came in the front door.
- In the morning, show it on the phone or TV next to the empty cookie plate.
What it costs
- One free preview a day, small and with a watermark, to see if it works on your room.
- The Santa kit is $7.99 once: 3 full-resolution pictures with no watermark, 2 free redraws, two elf notes and every elf cam look.
- The Nice List certificate and the letter from Santa are free for everyone.
Santa is added by our photo editor. The pictures on this page are AI images of a sample room, not a real home.
More
- Elf cam: your elf caught on camera
- Santa in a photo of your own room
- Elf ideas: 24 easy nights until Christmas Eve
- AI Santa photo in your own room
- AI Christmas photo prompts to copy
- Santa caught on camera, in your own living room
- Free Nice List certificate with your child's name
- Free letter from Santa, printable, with your child's name