Meeting Santa

With Christmas time comes a tradition that most mothers and children remember fondly - meeting Santa. I had no idea it would turn into such an event for us! We enjoyed our first meeting with Santa, but it was a little more "exciting" than this Mama had hoped for.

We took Barrett to Disney World in early October and he LOVED all of the characters, so I just assumed he would have the same fondness for the man in red. Little did I know that we would have a grand adventure just trying to meet the man!

Our first attempt (which was supposed to be our only attempt) was at the Carnegie hotel. They have a Santa come in and you can take your own pictures instead of paying big bucks for the package at the mall. Perfect, right? WRONG! This was on a Sunday afternoon, after we went to church and had a wonderful lunch at Cracker Barrel. Barrett was right on the verge of naptime, so I really should have known better.

We arrived with a few minutes to spare before B got really tired, but...we didn't quite make it. As you can see from the pictures below, Barrett was obviously not interested in meeting Santa on this day. We were there at the same time as our friends - the Moss' and the McDonalds, but none of us had a successful visit with this particular Santa.

Playing with Ellie just a few minutes before...happy as a little clam...

AND...MELTDOWN!!!

Don't get one step closer there, Santa, you hear me?

Our second attempt followed naptime, so I truly thought we were safe. WRONG again! Santa and Mrs. Claus sit outside on Saturdays downtown. You can go meet them and drop off your letter, so we thought we could take Barrett for another quick shot. He liked Mrs. Claus just fine, but still wasn't too fond of Santa.

Lady, don't you put me close to that Santa man!

and...MELTDOWN!!

With two unsuccessful attempts, I was discouraged, but undeterred. I needed a picture of Barrett with Santa! We gave it one last shot at the mall on Christmas Eve. The packages are expensive, but you are not required to pay unless you are satisfied with the picture. We put Barrett in his Christmas gear, loaded up, and we were off to the mall! After a brief wait and some careful maneuvers by Mom and Dad (yeah for teamwork!), we got the MONEY shot!! So, was it successful? I'll let you be the judge. ;)