a.k.a. "Santa"

Last week mommy took Amelia and Diana to the mall to see Santa Claus. Visiting Santa (and paying for a photograph) has been a Christmas tradition since Amelia was born.

This year Amelia seemed more interested than usual in jolly old St. Nick. The Santa Claus doll that I brought into the house for the holidays quickly became a good friend of Amelia's. She would sit next to him and repeatedly squeeze his hand so she could hear, "Remember, the spirit of Christmas lies in your heart," over and over again.

Amelia also talked about Santa Claus. One day she was describing the toy elf and said, "This is Santa Claus, or you can call him 'Santa'." Another afternoon I heard her say, "Santa doesn't share." I found this surprising since sharing has been such an important issue in our household recently and since no fictional character shares nearly as much as he does. I asked Amelia why she thought Santa didn't share and she pointed out that the toy bell he carries in his left hand is permanently attached.

Oh, that makes sense.

Thursday morning I asked Amelia if she wanted to visit Santa Claus and she enthusiastically said, "Yes." We drove off to the mall and found Santa in his usual spot. There was no line to see Santa and I spoke to an elf about ordering photographs. As I continued to talk I noticed Amelia slowly slinking away. She had backed off until she reached a nearby partition and when I asked her, "Don't you want to see Santa?" she fell on the ground in melodramatic fashion and said, "Oh no, not yet."

I told the elf we would return and took Amelia around the mall so she could calm her nerves. In the process I spent $20 on a singing Christmas tree that Diana loved so much I couldn't pry it from her tiny hands. (I now have to hear, "Rocking around the Christmas tree" a dozen times a day.)

Finally, after shopping and playing and snacking I convinced Amelia to take a chance on Santa since I was sure he would give her a coloring book after her visit. Amelia agreed to see St. Nick. When he asked her what she wanted for Christmas she told him, "A coloring book." She got her wish in record time.

Diana wasn't sure about the man in red. She cried when I sat her on Santa's knee and though she calmed down very quickly she still felt much more relaxed with her fingers in her mouth. Her slightly scared look is actually really sweet to me.

So enjoy this annual tradition and look for more holiday pictures from us in the near future.

Lisa