It's an illness. It really is. I love Christmas. I always have. I get a little obsessed with the decorating and the gift wrapping and the music playing and the need to make every moment a fun memory. I think I see it as my duty as the maker of our home to make sure that Christmas! Is! Wonderful! So when it came time for the obligatory photo with Santa, I had lofty expectations. This was the first year that Avery was old enough to actually talk to Santa and she was so excited to meet him! The girls had matching dresses (thank you Nana!), we made sure to go on a weekday morning when there wouldn't be a long line to avoid a toddler meltdown, and Avery practiced in the car on the way there telling Santa what she wanted for Christmas. It was going to be perfect! And then we got there. There was no line so we just walked right up to the big man in red, eager and ready. He just stared at us. He didn't smile or try to interact with Avery who was being shy. He just stared at us and waited for us to plop the kids on his lap for the picture. Erich prompted him on by saying, "So Avery, why don't you tell Santa what you want for Christmas (hint, hint!)". Santa gruffly said, "Oh yeah, whatdoyawant?". When Avery whispered, "A Jessie doll from Toy Story", Santa shrugged and said, "okay". womp womp. This was not the perfect memory I wanted for my girls! We snapped a quick photo and were on our way. I was crushed. To be fair, Avery giggled and smiled the whole way home about how happy she was to meet Santa Claus. In her two year old mind it was a great experience. So I fully acknowledge that this is all about me and my Christmas OCD. A few weeks passed and I just couldn't let it go. I asked around and found out that "the best Santa in town" was in a little red house at Levis Commons, an outdoor shopping mall just down the road from our house. So, a couple of days before Christmas when Erich was working, I loaded Avery and Norah into the car after Avery's nap for a quick trip to see Santa (again). Avery was ecstatic and didn't seem to question at all why we were seeing him twice, why he was in a different "workshop", or why he looked like a completely different man. This is probably the only year I can get away with something like this. The girls weren't in matching clothes, in fact I don't think I even combed Avery's hair. This wasn't about getting the perfect picture, it was about redeeming the image of who Santa is and what he should act like for my girls (okay, for me). Thankfully, there wasn't a line there either and we got to go straight in to meet the most wonderful Santa I've ever seen. Although the "set" was much more simple than where we had gone the first time, his outfit was beautiful and he was perfectly quiet and gentle and soft spoken. He gave Avery some space as she warmed up to him (she got shy again, even though she was so excited to go) and while he was waiting for Avery to come around he held Norah and doted over what a beautiful baby she was. Once Avery got up the courage to go talk to him, he asked her what she wanted for Christmas. When she said, "A Jessie doll", he engaged her in a long conversation about all of his favorite Toy Story characters and her face lit up. She was too shy to sit on his lap and I wasn't going to force it. Like I said, I wasn't there for the picture. Looking back on both of our Santa visits, I can laugh at myself and my crazy Christmas antics. I know that Santa is not the star of the show and that all of this pales in comparison to the importance of showing my girls that we celebrate because of Jesus. But I'll admit I walked away from Santa's little red house that day feeling a bit like a kid myself, giddy with the excitement and anticipation of December 25th and all that it entails... the birth of the Savior, the time spent with family, and the magic of a man in red who travels the world delivering Christmas cheer to young girls and boys. Am I crazy? yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely.
Santa, Take 1:
He's a very photogenic Santa and I'm probably being way too critical.
I'm sure he's a nice man.
Santa, Take 2:
Cutie Norah with sweet Santa
Talking about Toy Story
Avery, very excited by this point but still being shy for the picture.
No comments:
Post a Comment