What I
never realized before my dad-life was that once you have a kid
there are things that you, as an American parent, are obligated to do for your
child that you never had to think about before. I’m not talking about sending
them to college or making sure they take swimming lessons, but smaller things
that aren’t as critical but are still a part of being a kid. Yesterday we
took part in one of these small tasks – the Santa visit.
Let me say first that my baby, a whole four and a half months old now, is a genius at getting her photo taken. We dressed her up in her Christmas outfit, waited in line for almost an hour, and when it came time for her to shine, she dazzled. We put her on Santa’s lap, walked behind the camera, told her to smile, and BAM! She lit up the east end of the mall right in front of the Sears like it’s never been lit up before. But I digress…
Everything
on the surface was pretty much what I expected, a long line, lots of kids, and a
Santa with a real beard. Here are the things I wasn’t expecting:
- There are
three types of kids that go see Santa. The young babies to pre-toddlers (who
either smile or freak out uncontrollably with stranger anxiety), the young true
believers (who are easily the most fun to watch), and the kids who are way too
old to be visiting Santa. It’s this last group that bummed me out, as they were
all obviously there because their parents needed that photo of them with Santa
so much that they couldn’t let their pre-teen have a little dignity. One dad
even yelled at his son, “Come on Wade, SMILE.” Um, hey idiot, maybe your kid can’t
smile because he’s too self-conscious about sitting on a stranger’s lap. My
wife said that Wade should just close his eyes every time they tried to take a
photo until his mom and dad gave up. Unfortunately Wade just smiled and got it
over with.
- There weren’t
any candy canes. One thing I remember from doing this when I was a kid was
that at the end after you told Santa all the things you wanted, you got a candy
cane. We got a "The Original Holiday Classic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Available Now on DVD" CDROM instead from Santa, that has holiday games for the
kids to play and a fresh AOL install. I guess everything has to be a marketing opportunity nowadays.
- Even the
adults who have children who have no idea what’s going on call him Santa. What else
were we supposed to call him? His name is probably Jim or something, but if I
don’t call this dude Santa, well then who am I ever going to call Santa?
- According
to
JimSanta, the most popular item for kids was a Nintendo Game Cube. The most surprising item lots of kids were asking for: electric guitars.
No. Not really. You'll still be able to hit all your favorite old school stores like Spencer Gifts and Foot Locker, and have lunch at Ye Olde Foode Courte. And what was true in 87 is still true today - never buy records at a mall record store.
Posted by: moderndaydad | December 06, 2004 at 02:59 PM
That's hilarious. I can't wait to go see Santa at the mall with my baby. I haven't been to a mall in forever. Have they changed since 1987?
Posted by: paulconrad | December 06, 2004 at 11:18 AM