Spoiler Warning: Don't Read This Story If You Believe in Santa

By Charity Corkey (Contact)

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Although most children across the world don't get a glimpse of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, one Leesburg dad – working with a few other Loudoun "elves" - has come up with a way to "prove" Santa dropped by.

That proof is in the form of a photograph that parents can download from Capture the Magic, a Web site created by three Loudoun residents. Parents can simply upload a picture of their living rooms, choose from a variety of Santa poses (sitting, standing or kneeling) and drop him into the photo. And voila! Santa in your living room.

Jim Hallihan of Leesburg thought of the idea last year after his daughter Brooke asked him to photograph Santa when he visited their home on Christmas Eve. Teaming up with Chris Nunno and Bill MacKrell, Hallihan began work on the project in February and launched Capture the Magic in early December.

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A family in Georgia created this photo of their living room on www.capturethemagic.com. (Jim Hallihan)

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The family also created a picture of Santa by the window on www.capturethemagic.com. (Jim Hallihan)

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Santa delivers gifts to a living room in a photo created by a family in Georgia. (Jim Hallihan)

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"We were amazed that something like this didn't already exist on the Internet," Hallihan said. "We've had hits from 74 different countries, and every single state in the U.S."

Before the Web site's launch, Hallihan wanted to test 6-year-old Brooke's reaction and told her that he had been able to find some pictures of Santa from last Christmas.

"She was jumping up and down, running from room to room," he said. "If I can get kids to act as half as happy as mine did, there will be a lot of happy kids across the country."

Since each child can get a slightly different pose of Santa – the online tool allows parents to resize and move Santa around the room, blur Santa or brighten and dim the image – the photos will likely keep the little ones believing for a little longer. After choosing which pose they want, parents can instantly download the images to their computers for $9.95 for the first photo and 99 cents for each additional photo.

Liz Fields of Leesburg recently purchased two photos from Capture the Magic for her three children, ages 6, 10 and 11. Her 11- and 10-year-olds' beliefs in Santa are "on the fence," she said, and Fields hopes the pictures will preserve them a bit longer.

"There is always something magical about Christmas, and Santa is the icing on the cake," she said. "We're trying to keep the magic and are not showing the face [of Santa] in the pictures...I want my kids to picture the face that they think it's going to be."

Fields and her husband plan to place the photos on Santa's empty cookie plate Christmas Eve and tell their kids Christmas morning that Santa left them pictures.

Hallihan's partner Nunno, who has 5-year-old twins, a girl and a boy, has told his children he plans on catching Santa this year.

"They're counting down the days," he said. "We're a digital household, so we're going to leave the laptop open with the camera out on the counter top. They're used to seeing that, and I'll show them [Christmas morning] that we caught him."

Parents and others who use the service may also like to know that Capture the Magic donates 25 percent of its revenue to local charities, including the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Capitol Charter.

Tagged: 2008 Holiday Season, christmas, holiday, Santa Claus

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