Tuesday, December 27, 2011

You Better Watch Out

When I was growing up, the local Lion's Club would host an annual "Pancakes With Santa" event at the local middle school.  We'd all trek over to eat pancakes and phallic breakfast sausage, and then queue up to get our picture taken with Santa.

Ahhhh.... Christmas memories.

There are no such pictures of Preschooler with Santa.  She's afraid.

OF COURSE she's afraid!

Our first attempt to see Santa came early in December.  We were eating lunch in the mall food court (DON'T JUDGE) when we noticed there was no line whatsoever to visit Santa.

"Preschooler, look!" we said.  "There's Santa!  Would you like to go say hi?  You can tell him what you want for Christmas."

"I don't know what I want!" preschooler whispered, a bit agog.

"That's ok!" we replied.  "Santa knows.  You can just say hi and we'll take a picture to show every one."

She wasn't exactly jumping for joy, but we headed off anyways.  We walked through a small maze of candy canes and evergreens and were within a foot and a half of the big man.

But instead of bounding up to sit on his lap, or even traipsing up to say "hi," Preschooler clung to my legs as if she were going down with a sinking ship.

"Honey, it's ok! Santa's nice!"

Santa sat there rather impassively.  He probably had his fill of screaming kids, and wasn't going to encourage any more.

Preschooler couldn't even reply, except to bury her head further into my legs.

BOO!

And without Preschooler there to take the lead, Toddler simply preferred her usual state of anarchy, rather than sitting nicely on a strange old man's lap, no matter how many free candy canes were involved.

"That's ok," we said.  "Maybe next time."

Next time came a couple weeks later at, of all places, our church's Christmas lunch.

Jesus?

One of the parishioners dressed up as Santa, and was soon surrounded by a plethora of excited children. All except Preschooler, who hid under a table, and then behind a door, and then in Husband's lap.

Oh well, we tried.

So imagine Preschooler's surprise when she wakes up Christmas morning to find the doll she'd been obsessed with ever since seeing the endless commercials for this toy.

"HE KNEW!" she cried.

Of course he knew.

"Next year," Preschooler decided, "I'll be big enough to go see Santa."

I hope so.  Mama wants some pictures!!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Santa left my kids a handwritten note this year. As a warning. Basically, shape up, or I skip your house next year.

True story, friends of ours have three kids, and for the last two years, Santa has left presents for the two youngest, and absolutely nothing for the oldest. He did come this year for her, though.

Angela@BeggingTheAnswer said...

@Joshua - Now THAT'S how you do Santa!

jacqui said...

It's so sweet that she's already getting her courage up for next Christmas!

Angela@BeggingTheAnswer said...

@Jacqui - she's very much the kind of kid that has to do things when SHE decides she's ready.

mamamash said...

That girl knows what she wants (and doesn't want)!

Angela@BeggingTheAnswer said...

@mamamash - you've got that right!

Marianna Annadanna said...

Good god, so cute. I WANT KIDS!

(But *my* kids won't be chickens.)

;)

Angela@BeggingTheAnswer said...

@Marianna - come on, join the mommy club :)