The Mall Santa

The Mall Santa - I'm sure you all have stories of him...

We took Will to the outlet mall on Sat to see Santa. I guess they also get "outlet" price Santas there, too! All morning we prepped Will that we were going to see Santa and discussed all the questions Santa might ask him: What is your name, How old are you, Have you been a good boy this year, and the most important: What do you want for Christmas this year?

So, we race to the mall and get there right at noon when Santa is supposed to arrive. We brave the below zero temperatures and the crowds of frantic Christmas shoppers. We arrive to the food court area and found Santa mingling with a few customers. He walked past us and reached into his bag to give Will a small stuffed reindeer and was about to walk away - no HO HO HO, no Holly Jolly laugh, no Merry Christmas, no questions...until I stepped in front of him and said, WAIT, can I at least get a quick picture of you and my son? So he posed, and then kept walking. The look on Will's face was heartbreaking. He just stared at him as he walked away, as if wondering why Santa didn't care about his name, age, how good he's been, what he wants. So, it starts...mom and dad have to start making up stories about why Santa didn't have to ask him those questions...Santa has already been watching him through the windows and making sure he's been a good boy, and he's heard him say that he wants a choo choo train for Christmas.

Since then, Will, surprisingly must have been impressed with Santa because that night all he wanted to do was wear a Santa hat around the house, to the grocery store, and out to eat. He puts his Santa hat on and says in his deepest voice with his lips in a perfect circle, "HO HO HO Merry Christmas, What do YOU want for Christmas?"

And, if you could only see how fast his head whips around to the nearest window anytime he's misbehaving and we say, I hope Santa isn't watching!