First Visit with Santa!

Last Saturday Hannah and I went to the mall.  Mama had one goal in mind ~ a visit with Santa!

Last year we made several attempts to see the Jolly Old Man but each time it just didn’t work out.  Sometimes he was off feeding his reindeer or talking toys with his elves and other times when he was there my sweetie was sleeping and there was no way I was waking her up only to plop her on the lap of a man with a fuzzy beard, wearing a red suit.  We’d only been home from China a matter of weeks and this Mama was being cautious.

So this year and knowing her personality better, I wanted to make a genuine effort to meet Santa in person.  She’d seen him on TV and in a parade (post to come later) so slowly she was getting ready for her first up close visit.

When we first arrived at the mall the line was closed as he visited with the last few children in it and then headed of for his lunch.  We did peek at him and even give him a little wave which was a great introduction. 

Needing lunch ourselves we went to the food court (Mama silently hoping for a Hallelujah Chorus Flash Mob to break out :o) and shared some lunch.   After that we headed back and were the second family in line awaiting his return.

As I’d anticipated based on her reactions to the Disney characters, Hannah was a little shy and wanted Mama close but she was still ok with visiting Santa.  She asked Mama to tell him that she wanted a dolly for Christmas as she wasn’t quite brave enough this time to whisper the word herself, nor did she choose to return his high 5.  But, she did give him wave and call out a hearty ‘Bye!’ once we were a safe distance away. 

All in all her first visit with Santa was a great success!  We may even visit him another time or two this Christmas season as we await his visit on Christmas Eve.