Ho-ho-ho… I don’t think so

This was the first year we made the real attempt to visit Santa. Jens heard great things about Santa’s Wonderland at Bass Pro Shop, so we lined up an evening with a few of Mila’s friends, and went out to see Santa. Starting on Friday, we started asking her, “What does Santa say?” and followed with coaching her to respond with a “ho-ho-ho”.  With every “ho,” she added her own little jump or jerked her body forward, it’s pretty dramatic (and hilarious to watch!).

It was finally Saturday afternoon and we made our way out to Bass Pro Shop. We got there about 4:20 and the earliest pass available to get in line for Santa’s wonderland is 5:30. So the wait was on… with toddlers, this will go quickly, right?! We watched the fish in the large aquarium for awhile and then walked around the store and looked at all the stuffed deer, bears, wolves and all sorts of other animals. We still had time to burn and the kids were getting antsy.

The dads went up and stalked the end of the line, just waiting for them to call the 5:30 passes. Finally, they called our time and we were in line to see the big guy in red. We made our way up to the Wonderland and watched the train set, looked at the stuffed reindeer, and admired all the good kids sitting on Santa’s lap getting their photos taken.

Once it was finally our time to jump in line with the dads, I had a sense that things might not really go well as we’d like. I felt Mila cling tighter and tighter to me with every step we took. When it was her turn to sit on Santa’s lap, a look of fear and panic immediately took over and it was clear that she was not sitting with Santa to share a jolly ho-ho-ho.

In the end, I held Mila and we got a nice little family photo with Santa. It wasn’t really what we had in mind, but we made the best of it. Lea felt even worse about Santa than Mila did. I can’t wait for them to post their picture. Here’s a link to their blog site, check back soon, Steve says they’ll be posting it… it’s worth the wait!

And, with more attempt to see Santa while in Lake View, we’re certain that a live Santa just isn’t what she’s looking for. She didn’t think twice about taking the bag of treats he was offering, but he wasn’t going to a high-five for it! The stuffed and cartoon Santa Claus will be just fine for awhile!