Tonight we attended a tree-lighting ceremony in Dallas' arts district. It was a fun event - we got to hear some good singing; see the tree lit by a ballet dancer, a few kids and our city manager; and Ben and I shared milk and cookies to close out the night. But the highlight (for me, anyway) was Ben's first time to meet Santa.
It was a spur of the moment decision to hop in line to meet the man in the red suit. Branden was at work, and I was a little hesitant for this milestone moment to happen in his absence. But the line was short, and the pics were free - so I went for it.
While we stood in line, I talked it up to Ben. Reminded him about who Santa was, how he brought presents, showed him the other kids sitting on Santa's lap. I did all the hyping you can really do for a kid who's not yet 2. When it came right down to it, the moment of truth...
This was as close as he'd get to Jolly Old St. Nick. We got up there and made our introductions (Ben mostly looked away, and I could already tell he was nervous and scared). Santa asked if we were going to try this (handing Ben over)...I said "I don't know"...and as soon as I made a motion to set Ben in his lap, my son had a vice grip on me, was shaking his head vigorously, and saying "Nooo".
Fortunately, Santa's feelings weren't hurt. He invited me onto his lap, and I laughed. Which is precisely when the pic was taken. No matter, it's still cute, and it's still a memory.
And the best part? Branden didn't mind a bit that we did it without him. And we might go to another Santa on Sunday too...that was my original plan anyway.
Merry Christmas!
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