With a little more than five weeks until Santa arrives, plans on how to celebrate another festive season with the family this year are starting to creep in — and perhaps already in full flight for Christmas tragics.
While family photos with the Man in the Red Suit have become an annual tradition for many, the advent of snaps featuring our favourite furred, feathered and scaly mates is now more welcome than ever.
And anything pet-themed — from custom socks with your pooch’s cute face on it to matching Christmas outfits for you and your cat — has proved a winner, with reports estimating one in three Aussies spent a collective $360 million on their pets just last year.
After two years of socially distanced portraits, Santa arrives at Westfield centres from this weekend, touching his sleigh down at Booragoon, Carousel, Innaloo and Whitford City with plenty of room on his red velvet throne for pets and their families.
Santa also has pet-friendly visits planned for Karrinyup and Lakeside Joondalup shopping centres, with former West Coast Eagle Chris Masten, wife Emmi and their children getting stuck in early.
“The Karrinyup Christmas photos are the perfect opportunity to capture a moment in time for our family,” Mrs Masten said.
“Our terriers were our original babies, so it’s only fair they feature in the family festive snap.”
A champion of pet photography in Perth, Houndstooth Studio in Mt Lawley will also have sessions with Santa hats at the ready if you want the spotlight shining on just your darling pet.
“Every year for the past 12 plus years, I’ve photographed Santa Paws for the Dogs’ Refuge Home of WA in Shenton Park,” award-winning photographer Alex Cearns said.
“It’s Perth’s original and best Santa Paws and it’s all for rescue animals. Attendees pay $35 for up to two dogs to have a photograph with Santa and all proceeds go to the Dogs Refuge Home of WA.
“Our record number of dogs is 155 and combined with their In The Doghouse Event on the same day, and the generosity of the Tate Family Trust who partly matching funds, we have raised over $100,000 from these events.
“This year Santa Paws will be held from 9am until 2pm on Sunday, November 27, at the Dogs’ Refuge Home on Lemnos Street. People can just turn up on the day and I try to work as fast as possible to get ‘the shot’.”
Houndstooth Studio also offers a Christmas gift voucher special for $95, which includes a print for the lucky recipient.
Thicc Boi Film — the team behind the much-loved camera film vending machine in Raine Square — is also getting in on the action, pencilling in a special event for celluloid lovers for December 17.
Owners will be captured alongside their pet in full retro regalia for the festive season, with bookings and baubles essential once they make the official announcement via Instagram.
“We are a couple of millennials who treat our little cavoodle Gus more like a fur-child than a pet,” Thicc Boi Film owner Kaela Barker said.
“We knew there are a lot more people out there like us and maybe they too would want a 90s-inspired pet portrait to hang proudly on the wall or turn into this year’s Christmas card.”
But if it’s a pet-obsessed family member or friend who is on your Christmas list, then Innaloo-based Pawtraits Studio & Prints and Mayland’s Pinot & Painting could deliver the perfect pressies.
Liezl Alcantara and Brendon Gangemi grew an obsession with COVID furbaby Kobe the cavoodle into a passion project, which has now blossomed into a bustling business helping pet owners celebrate their own pets in a modern way.
Their custom pet portraits use favourite photos of a pet, which Ms Alcantara then works some graphic design magic on to create the wall-worthy prints.
“At first we were only doing it for family and friends but then we got asked to do a number of portraits as gifts, so we launched our Etsy page and eventually launched our very own website,” Ms Alcantara said.
“Without a doubt, Christmas season is the busiest time of year. It’s the purrfect thoughtful gift for any pet lover for any occasion.
“A portion of our profits and company partnership donations also support the ongoing work of RSPCA, Dogs’ Refuge Home WA and the Australian Koala Foundation.”
Hot tip: order before December 9 for guaranteed delivery from Santa or give them at least seven days for a local pick-up.
For the budding Botticelli in your life, Pinot & Painting’s Paint Your Pet sessions have proven popular in the past, especially as the clever team takes the hard work out of creating a masterpiece starring your favourite companion.
“It is so rewarding seeing people create stunning paintings of their beloved pets,” artist Bec Lang said.
“We know that Christmas is a time for loved ones and we believe that our pets are part of the family, so we wanted to create a festive event for people to create a beautiful handmade gift of their furry friends, or to give the gift of an experience in the form of a luxurious afternoon sipping and painting the day away.
“Your ticket includes four hours of tuition, all the materials necessary, free-flowing bubbly, grazing boards and, of course, a gorgeous painting to take home at the end.”
Participants simply send two photos of their pet before the session, allowing Pinot & Painting’s artists to do up a pencil sketch so the painting will look just like your pet.
“The classes are beginner friendly and our artists will guide you every step of the way,” Ms Lang said.
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