You better not cry ....

PITTSBURGH -- Janet Malloy met Santa for the first time when she was 3.

On that memorable day in 1948, she stood in line for more than an hour at the former Kaufmann's Department Store in downtown Pittsburgh, all dressed up in a snowsuit, warm leggings and a red coat.

When she finally got to the front of the line, "I decided that I did not want to see him. I did not want to sit on his lap and I wanted to go home."

But her mother insisted, saying, "I have waited here over an hour with you."

Then, "She picked me up, propped me in his lap, turned to the photographer and says, 'Take the picture,' " said Malloy, who's now 62 and a grandmother of five.

Her facial expression -- a mixture of shock and awe -- prompts laughter from visitors who see it on her desk at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.

"Everybody who comes in gets a big charge out of it," she said. "I'm making people smile this season."

For some children, especially toddlers, taking a meeting with Santa Claus can be as frightening as that imagined monster-in-the-bedroom-closet. And for parents who anticipate getting a photo of their smiling child on Santa's lap for that perfect Christmas memory, the experience can be frustrating.

But the fear reaction is more common than you think.

"When you see that big guy in the red suit in person, you can be terrified," acknowledged Santa Claus, er, the one who is holding court in the local Ross Park Mall this year. (Mall management wouldn't reveal his real name, because, well, there's only one Santa.)

Santa began appearing in department stores in 1870 when Macy's in New York City put him to work. He listened to children's requests and directed them to the appropriate section of the store. Now, of course, he's real busy and magically appears at thousands of malls simultaneously for several weeks before Christmas.

In a recent interview, he suggested that parents let their child meet Santa briefly before that in-depth chat about Christmas toys.

"The parents can bring the children by to see us sitting in that chair. We are passing out candy canes. I'll hand them a candy cane and talk with them," he said.

With children, a gentle approach is always best.

"I let them walk up to me. I never reach for them. I tell them, 'Santa Claus will never hurt you. Santa Claus brings you presents.' Nine times out of 10, I can talk them up onto my lap," he said.

He also explains to children the purpose of taking the picture.

" 'When I get home to the North Pole tonight, I show it to Rudolph. Rudolph will know which house you live in. Otherwise, he'll land on your neighbor's house and give your present to your friend.'

"It works, too."

Earlier this month, Santa met a 6-year-old girl who has always been "scared to death" of him and whose mother told him, "I have never had a picture with this child."

The jolly old elf worked his cheerful magic.

"The little girl came up. I gave her a candy cane and said, 'Santa Claus will never hurt you. Your mama would like to have a picture. Would you stand beside me and take your picture?' "

The child agreed.

"Now, see how easy that was?" Santa said. "She got right up on my lap and took the picture."

Santa, whose smiling muscles are of Olympic caliber, knows when to look at a child and when to avoid eye contact.

"If they're scared, I don't look at them. The photographer rings a bell to get the child's attention," he said.

Over the years, Santa has met his share of nonbelievers. At Stone River Mall in Tennessee, a 5-year-old boy insisted that he did not believe and that he knew his mother brought the presents "because I've seen them in the hallway closet."

Santa was undeterred.

"If I tell you your name, will you believe I'm Santa Claus? I said, it's Nathan. I have no ugly idea why I said Nathan. But it was his name. His eyes were about as big around as half dollars. He says, 'Mama, this is the real Santa Claus. He knows my name.'

"That kid came back a dozen times that year to talk to me."

Santa also poses for pictures with sleeping babies.

"I pretend like I've gone to sleep," he said.

All in all, his time with the children is enjoyable. "This job is fantastic," he said. "I'm ready to start again on the 26th of December."

E-mail Marylynne Pitz at mpitz(at)post-gazette.com.

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)