Santa's Reign of Terror Continues

I know you are technically not supposed to get into the holiday spirit until after Thanksgiving, but I'm a practical person with 2 small children who are not exactly "laid back," and so when I found out that Santa was at the mall already, I made a very conscious decision to go early and avoid the lines and madness!

I started prepping Mudgie for Santa earlier in the week. I told him we were going to visit Santa, and he could sit on his lap and tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas. Mudgie told me he wanted a Christmas tree. I asked him if he wanted anything else, like some toys. Then he told me he "wanted something" and that "Daddy get him toy to put on tree." My Mudgie Man is so sweet! Then he made it very clear that he did not want to sit on Santa's lap.

I prepped Mudgie for about 3 days, and when the day finally arrived, I made sure he could see my excitement. Unfortunately, my excitement did not rub off on Mudgie as I had hoped. In fact, Mudgie seemed very reluctant to go see the jolly old man at all. When we got to the mall, I could feel a meltdown brewing. That's when it hit me. I forgot to tell Mudgie one of the best parts about going to see Santa...the candy cane! That seemed to get him out of the car.

As predicted, there was no line to see Mr. Cringle. I took the boys out of the stroller, and Aaron was content as could be to sit with this nice, white bearded man. Mudgie, on the other hand, has become very wary of strangers...even ones that come down your chimney to deliver presents. In the end, I got him to sit with Santa, but he wasn't loving it. He started warming up to the big guy when I sat next to Santa. Then Mudgie could sit on my lap tell Santa what he wanted, which at this point was candy!

While he didn't seem particularly pleased while we were there, Mudgie now speaks fondly of our visit with Santa, and tells people how he asked for candy for Christmas. I'm hoping Santa comes through for him (without going overboard and creating a never-ending sugar high), and that next year, Mudgie might even want to sit on Santa's lap!