Saturday, December 11, 2010

Santa et. al.

It's been a bad week for politics, in my opinion, so rather than dwell on the negative, I thought I'd share some more happy holiday stories.

Every town or city probably has its own holiday wonderland spot, and Charleston's is pretty lovely. The Festival of Lights at James Island County Park is three miles of rather excitingly cool Christmas lights (My favorite is a rendition of the Old Cooper River Bridge that transforms into the new one. I remember driving over the rickety old bridge, and the reminder is nice and nostalgic, even for a transplant like me.), plus a Winter Wonderland area for kids (including the kid in Charles and me).

The park is about thirty minutes from our house, and we took the Jeep, hoping the novelty of our *other* car would keep Zoe happy even on a long-ish car ride. It didn't quite work, and by the time we got to the park, even the amazing, flashing, beautiful lights were not distraction enough for Zoe.

"I want to get OUT! NOW!" She demanded this repeatedly, only occasionally distracted by a super-cool light setup.

So we moved quickly to the play area, congratulating ourselves (rightfully so) on our good timing - we'd gone just at dusk, as the park opened, so that we didn't have to wait in any lines or deal with crazy parking issues.

Zoe was absolutely tickled by the marshmallow roasting pits - $1 per marshmallow stick wasn't a bad price, in my mind, for the happy, marshmallow-covered Zoe-smile that followed. After a quick wash-up in the bathroom, we went to visit Mrs. Claus, who was getting set up for a story-time session, but was talking to kids while she waited. Zoe was dubious at best, but stood near enough to get a candy cane.

It was when we moved to the additional play area that her night vastly improved. First, she rode on a beautiful old carousel, her first ever amusement park ride, and she thought it was the COOLEST THING EVER. She initially sat on a Dalmatian (Molly-dog), but then wanted to move to a horse. I moved her, since it was less than a step away, but when she saw the giraffe on the other side, I put my foot down. We stayed on the horse, and the ride started, and Zoe learned about the fun up-and-down-around-and-around of a good merry-go-round. And I only got a little dizzy.

Then, we saw the big man himself. Yep, Santa Claus. St. Nick. Father Christmas.

Now, I should say here that Zoe has never successfully seen Santa up close and personal. Her first year, we made a conscious decision that we didn't want one of those screaming-babies-on-Santa's-lap photos that grace web sites like Awkward Family Photos. Then last year, she was terrified of him.

This year, she was starstruck. She saw him and ran over to his stage, and waited less-than-patiently on line as other children had their turn with Santa.

When it was her turn, she ran up to him, probably her first-ever time running up to a stranger. She took his hands, and only got a little nervous when Santa set her on his lap. She chatted with him, and we actually have some photos of both Zoe and Santa looking at the camera and smiling. The one we chose to have printed shows them deep in conversation, Zoe's finger in her mouth, thoroughly engaged. It's my new favorite picture EVER.

Then, finally, we let our girl get on the carousel one more time, and she was so excited to sit on her giraffe that she was practically shaking as we waited for our turn. To the giraffe we flew, as soon as the gate was opened.

Zoe was in heaven, and we raced the other animals, patted the giraffe on the neck, and in general had a delightful ride that was over just a minute too soon.

As we left, Zoe cried, afraid other children were now riding *her* giraffe. I tried explaining that it wasn't exactly hers, but when that didn't work, Charles and I tacked right.

Me: "Yes, Zoe, that's your giraffe. I put a sticker on it with your name."

Charles: "So no other children will ride on the giraffe again."

It was a selfish way to end a really pretty night, but sometimes avoiding a two-year-old tantrum is worth a little white lie.

Anyway, I think we've started a new family tradition, and I'm glad of it. I had an amazing time with my family and I think Zoe and Charles did, too.

Thanks for a great night, guys! Love you!


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