TAPED carols warble in shops, the malls are decked with plastic holly... and cute kids are popping up as child models in festive season advertisements faster than you can say jingle bells.
Two children - one clad in a rabbit suit - widen their eyes in excitement in an ad for DBS credit cards; a girl poses as a Disney princess in one for Frasers Centrepoint Malls; kids play inside a giant snow globe in another for department store Robinsons and a toddler piggybacks a man in one for a Hitachi corporate ad.
Yep, 'tis the season to be jolly busy, especially if you are a parent of a child model.
And this isn't mere child's play, but a lucrative sideline. Child models are paid anywhere from $60 to more than $3,000 per modelling job, depending on whether it's - in order of ascending pay - an editorial photoshoot, a runway gig or a commercial advertisement in print or on television.
Take Savannah Holborn, eight, whose mother is Singaporean Chinese and father is British. She has earned about $10,000 in the six years that she has been a child model.
CUTE AS A KID: Sameer Anand in a Hitachi corporate ad.
She has starred in ads for John Little as well as done runway shows for department stores like Takashimaya.
Or Singapore-based Georgia Gamble, who at only five years old has earned more than $5,000 in the last few months. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl of Australian and Scottish parentage, who is deaf, stars in the above-mentioned Robinsons print ad, and recently wrapped a regional ad for the kids' range of American jeans brand Levi's.
Boys are in equally high demand. Eight-year-old Sanjay Anand gets three or four jobs a year and commands about $400 for a four-hour shoot - sometimes more when he catwalks for retailers that stage regular kids' fashion shows, such as Takashimaya and luxury fashion boutique Kids 21.
His 21-month-old brother Sameer stars in the abovementioned Hitachi ad. Both boys are of Chinese and North Indian parentage.
And what do parents do with the money from their little earners? Many deposit into a bank account for when the child is an adult.
No wonder more Singaporeans are taking a shine to the idea of their offspring being models, going by the numbers doing catwalk courses and the like.
For example, Impact Models, a home-grown modelling agency which represents more than 1,000 kids aged two months to 16 years, says an increasing number of children have signed up for its Kid's Modelling and Catwalk Course.
Declining to reveal exact figures, Impact says only a handful of child models existed when the course started in 1989 - but this year, it saw a 70 per cent jump in participants from last year, which, in turn, saw a 50 per cent rise from 2005.
So you want Junior to ditch the Play-Doh and make some real dough? Well, do your own homework, first.
For a start, a child needs to be friendly, bubbly and able to take instructions.
Modelling agency Phantom Management says there is always a demand for both boys and girls in any age group, and there is no specific 'look' required by advertisers.
Impact Models says even an 'average-looking kid' can make the cut. What is more important is to have understanding parents.
Says booker Eileen Koh: 'If parents with an attitude problem can give us trouble, they will do likewise to clients.'
Yes, parents should be warned that preening and posing is no walk in the park. Photoshoots can take up to six hours each, and you have to be present to help ensure your child cooperates on the job.
There are also expensive outlays like getting photos done to get on the books of agencies, unless your kid is lucky enough to get talent-spotted in the street.
Not surprisingly, psychologists say that immersing young children in a world fuelled by the pursuit of a glamorous image could be detrimental as they get older.
Ms Susan Rountree, a psychologist and founder of Insight Educational and Psychological Services, says: 'Make sure kids don't develop the idea that modelling is the way they get their sense of worth or purpose.'
Ms Maureen Neihart, a clinical child psychologist and associate professor at the National Institute of Education, says: 'The emphasis on 'the perfect look' can encourage distorted self-perceptions that promote eating disorders, unhealthy perfectionism, and anxiety.'
CHRISTMAS CHEER: Georgia Gamble (left) in a Robinsons ad.
But parents point out that modelling builds up a shy child's self-confidence and enhances the 'talent for performance' of an outgoing child.
Mrs Mavies Holborn, 43, says modelling has helped Savannah, her only child, meet new friends.
And Georgia's mother, Mrs Dayle Gamble, 45, says: 'Georgia is deaf. I let her model because if some child ever passes nasty comments to her about her hearing, she would have all the evidence to show she's beautiful.'
Of course, you must be sure that your child actually finds modelling fun. Says Georgia of her Robinsons gig: 'I liked having my hair curled.'
None of the parents LifeStyle spoke to intend to make modelling a full-time job for their children and don't expect them to continue with it as adults. In fact, they don't allow their kids to miss classes for a photoshoot.
Meanwhile, child models are busy as Santa's (well-paid) little helpers, in ads selling festive fare. As Mr Paul Anderson, executive creative director of ad agency Ogilvy RedCard Singapore, notes, when products are meant for families, advertisers want to depict these families in their ads.
'Children also have an endearing quality that adults don't, and this helps to touch people's hearts,' he adds.
Ms Lin Pei Hua, senior marketing and communications manager of department store Tangs, which has used children in its runway shows at Singapore Fashion Festival, says: 'Being so spontaneous and adorable, they deliver great campaign images that will definitely bring a smile to whoever sees the ads.'
