Vist with Santa 2011

I somewhat dreaded meeting up with the bearded man again this year. After last year's experience -

I wasn't quite sure how Xander would handle it. I wanted to do it because I really felt that Amelia Jayne needed her first-Christmas-meeting-with-Santa experience, too. And I couldn't stand the thought of not letting Xander tell Santa what he wants. So, a few weeks before Christmas, Xander told me he wanted a monster truck. I said, "Well, we'll have to ask Santa for a monster truck! Maybe he'll bring you one for Christmas!" This seemed exciting to him so he would go around saying, "I need to ask Santa for a monster truck." This was good preparation because once we got to Santa, he sat on his lap, told him what he wanted (his list was, and I quote "a monster truck and butterflies" - Hilarious!) and then he was ready to leave. He didn't want to stay with that man any longer than he had to, but he did talk to him and he did sit still long enough for us to snap a few pics.

We will definitely be going back to that Santa! He was, of all places, at Bass Pro Shops at Concord Mills. I suppose it was appropriate that Xander's request was for a monster truck. Not so much with the butterflies.:) They really had their ducks in a row there. We got there early and they gave us a Bass Pass. We were there at 5 and they told us to come back at 7. We went to dinner, walked around and then went back to the store. Once there, we got in a "fast track" line and only waited 30 minutes to see Santa! The other line was moving pretty slow, so I was glad we had gotten our quick ticket! They also had all kinds of things lined up for the kids to do while they were waiting. There was a model train that went through mountains and valleys, remote control trucks and boats that the kids could play with, and some tables setup with coloring books. It was great! Xander especially loved the train. Also, you didn't have to buy the pictures if you didn't want them (even though the packages were very affordable) and they allowed you to take your own pictures (this was not the case Xander's first Christmas when we went to SouthPark Mall and had to pay $35 for two low-quality digital pics...at least last year's 10-second-experience didn't cost anything). AND the Santa was awesome! He had a real beard and was very kind, polite and patient with the children. Overall, it was a great experience!

Xander watching the train