Claus encounters: Jolly Old Saint Nick brings out fear and loathing in some tots during the annual ritual of visiting Santa's lap

Santa Claus could arguably be considered the most benign of our cultural icons; after all, he has a great sense of humor, free toys for children and a somewhat more coherent back-story than the Easter Bunny.

But even the jolliest Father Christmas is no match for the unyielding skepticism of the average toddler.

At 19 months old, Lyla Bohnert couldn't voice her objections per se, but her look of utter incredulity was unmistakable when it came her turn to sit on Santa's lap at Orchard Elementary School's Breakfast With Santa.

"How about we go sit on Santa's lap?" her mother Racheal suggested.

Lyla only tightened her grip, setting her jaw resolutely around her pink binky. "How about what are you trying to do to me, mother?"

Dimples and dread create contrasting reactions during a recent visit with Santa at West Park Mall in Cape Girardeau. (Laura Simon)

Lyla's 4-year-old sister, Madilynn, hopped up on Santa's lap easily enough, but Santa would have his work cut out for him coaxing a Christmas wish out of her.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Have you been a good little girl this year?" he asked.

Madilynn gave two nods.

"And what would you like for Christmas?"

At first she said nothing. It began to seem as though Madilynn would probably get some decent use out of a Texas Hold-Em set.

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"A bicycle," she offered, finally at ease.

"A bicycle?" Santa said. "Yes! And what do you think your sister would like?"

She glanced at Mommy, who was wrestling Lyla onto her other hip with some difficulty. Though it appeared her sister would like nothing more than to go home immediately, Madilynn decided her sister would probably like a bicycle as well -- both pink to match their stockings, of course.

And so the Bohnert sisters' photo with Santa became the Bohnert family's photo with Santa as Mom, Racheal and Dad, Cole, squeezed in.

"It's not her first Christmas, but her first real time with Santa," Racheal explained.

LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com

When asked to speculate why her sister might not have been keen to sitting with good St. Nick, Madilynn once again pulled out her poker face, apparently harboring more suspicion for members of the media than she does Father Christmas. Understandable.

But the Bohnert sisters' experience is not uncommon. Olivia Rawson, 5, and her sister Adelynn, 17 months, visited Santa a few weeks ago with similar results.

"She was crying, I think, because she was scared," Olivia said in a phone interview Monday. She said she wasn't sure why though, since she didn't think Santa was scary.

Olivia anticipates future visits with Santa, but couldn't speculate as to what Adelynn's future reaction might be.

"I don't know," she said.

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Troy Pehle has been playing Santa for more than 20 years, and says there's an art to putting wary children at ease.

"The biggest thing with children is letting them know that you're accessible, be it body language or the questions you ask, etc.," he said.

Over the two-hour event at Orchard Elementary, he saw both ends of the spectrum. One rather industrious youth brought him a letter, not with wishes, but with a listing of his reindeer ranked according to her personal preference. Others refused to make eye contact. One resorted to an elaborate hopping routine as distraction until Santa pulled out the big guns.

"Do you like 'Frozen'?"

Well played, Mr. Claus.

LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com

"You have to know what they're interested in," he explained. As a father of four, Pehle said it's easy for him to keep plugged in to what's hip, namely, "Frozen" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."

To some parents like local dad Craig Arnzen, however, the pictures are just as cute if the child is smiling or squalling.

"It's a little twisted to say we were pleased that our child was upset and crying," he said. "But it was a fun day. The children reacted a little better to Mrs. Claus's book-reading. And everybody reacted better to the animal crackers, so it was OK."