In Atlanta, there is a lot of hullabaloo made about one particular Santa who sets up shop at the “fancy” mall in town. Since this was our first year in the Santa photo department, we (I) decided to see what all the fuss was about. This particular Santa is so popular that you have to reserve an appointment with him in October and there is verbiage on the reservation site that promises severe punishment to anyone found “selling, bartering, or trading appointment slots on Ebay.” Seriously, do people really do that? And I wonder what punishments Santa’s elves would mete out…
Anywho, we booked our appointment and made the Santa visit with my friend Lisa and her son Ryan. Meeting Santa turned out to be pretty anticlimactic and over in 3 minutes – I think we were picturing waiting in a line a la “A Christmas Story” even though we had an appointment. As we entered the photo line the helpers handed Anna a wish list for her to complete so Santa would know what she wanted. Umm, she can’t talk, much less write…fearing we would be reprimanded for not having a list, I helpfully jotted down a few items for her.
Anna sat patiently on his knee and looked at him pensively. We couldn’t entice any smiles from her, but at least she wasn’t crying like the set of twin boys we saw who were petrified. Ryan performed for the camera, flashing several big grins.
So, to sum up, was the Phipps Santa good – yes. He’s definitely authentic with a legit beard and fluffy white hair and his suit is very pretty. Was it worth all of the hype and threat of disembodiment if you missed your scheduled appointment? Not really – in fact, there was a major downer with the event – you don’t get your pictures on site. They are mailed to you after the fact! Apparently the “fancy” mall hasn’t heard of on-site printers. I mean, when I was little we would get a Polaroid immediately after our visit… I tried to post videos of Anna and Ryan with Santa but there are technical difficulties with the blog site...I'll try to get them up later.
Next up on the Christmas agenda was the tree. We headed to Home Depot the Saturday after Thanksgiving and picked out a beautiful tree on a not so beautiful day. Anna also enjoyed playing with the oversized ornaments in the store. People looked at me kind of funny as I was snapping pictures of her in the store…but, hey, I’m always armed with the camera for the blog!
Anna wasn’t much help in the tree decorating department, although she was enthralled by some beads we use on the stair banisters. She played with them for hours. We also unpacked her Little People Nativity Set from Gramma Turner which also has provided many hours of entertainment - apparently Anna is convinced a crab, bunny, and pig were present at the birth of Christ as she insists on adding these three of her favorite toys to the manger party...
Since putting up the tree she has been interested. We put some Anna-safe ornaments on the bottom branches and she enjoys taking them on and off the tree.
Next stop on the Bergstrom holiday train was our neighborhood Christmas party. I gave Anna a break from the dress and tights routine and let her be festive in a red sweater/hat combo made by Grammy Bergstrom. Trusty Funny Bunny joined the party, also. The party was fun – Anna likes watching the antics of the “big kids” in the neighborhood. Of course, the camera batteries died after the first 5 minutes of the party, so we only have these shots…
We love the holidays in our household and we’re excited to watch Anna on Christmas morning. I know she doesn’t get it, but it will be a pleasure for us nonetheless.
1 comment:
You need to remind Anna that, in addition to the crab, there was more than one lobster present at the birth of Christ.
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