GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Celebrating a child’s first Christmas is a big moment for many families. That’s not always possible for families who are spending the holiday season in the hospital instead of at home. Capturing Hopes Photography and Cone Health worked together to make sure parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Cone Health Women’s and Children’s Center at Moses Cone Hospital didn’t miss out on this milestone. “When you're in NICU, you don't have the opportunity to go to a professional photographer and do that newborn shoot that every parent books and plans and dreams of, so we're taking the opportunity to come in and give them that,” Capturing Hopes photographer Alison Tapp said. Tapp took pictures of the babies and family members. Cone Health arranged to have Santa and Buddy the Elf visit the families on the same day Tapp was taking pictures. They were included in the photos. Mom Paris Patillo was not expecting to be in the NICU. “I came here for a different reason and then next thing you know I was having a baby,” she said. Despite what she described as a scary situation, she was grateful that her newborn daughter would still have pictures of her first Christmas. “Christmas is my favorite holiday, (…) just for her to be able to take pictures and have Santa here and everything, it's just exciting,” she said. That’s the kind of reaction that drives the mission of Capturing Hopes Photography. “If we can come in and we can create that moment for them, something to be excited about and look forward to and it be fun, then that's worth every minute of it,” Tapp said. The Clemmons-based nonprofit provides this service along with other forms of outreach by relying on professional photographers who volunteer their time. Mom Kaitlyn Carter appreciates the support because she doesn’t feel like her son is missing out. “It makes me feel like he's with us,” Carter said. “It makes me feel like, I know when we come in here, that he has some cheer.” The families appreciate the generosity and seeing the various people who worked to make the Christmas season special by sharing their time and talents. “You never expect to have a baby at 27 weeks, but you have to be thankful for everything that they did because you wouldn't be here without it,” Carter said. “That's just what I want to give them is just that memory to hang on to and something fun, something happy,” Tapp said. Capturing Hopes Photography visits this NICU once a month. Babies are usually dressed in festive attire related to a theme or specific holiday such as Thanksgiving or Christmas.