Visiting Santa Clause

This year is the first year that Adam has really been into the Santa and gift thing. Around Thanksgiving time we got those wish catalogs. Adam scanned through those and even had a growing list, but then he found the Nerf Vulcan Gun. His list was wiped clean except for that gun. That was his only wish that Santa bring him the automatic Nerf machine gun. I told Adam that in order to get his wish that he needed to ask Santa Claus.

Now in the past taking Adam to see Santa was a torture session for our family. We would try to get that annual photo of our children on Father Chirstmas' lap while Adam, being totally freaked out by this strange old guy, would cry the whole time. We would try to calm him and he would resist even more. We were quite the scene. I'm sure that we got looks from passing empty-nesters that have long since forgotten what it is like to have a 2yr old.

Now that Adam had a mission and a purpose to accomplish he seemed to swallow his fears and do that which was necessary in order to accomplish his Christmas wish. After all he really wanted that gun. I took the boys to see our local Santa Claus at the mall. The BEST Santa that I have ever come across and I have even been to Macy's on 34th in NYC. He called Adam by name and they just had a nice conversation. Adam didn't sit on his lap but I didn't expect him to, that is just not Adam's style. When Santa asked "So, what would you like for Christmas?" Adam respectfully gave his rehearsed answer "I would like a NERF Vulcan Gun, please." Then Santa asked something that Adam wasn't prepared for, "Would you like anything else?" Adam just looked at him confused at the question. His reply "no."

After their exchange was over he gave Santa a hug and got a toy for Zachary and himself. Zachary really wasn't interested in sitting on this strange man's lap and wanted nothing to do with it. Being a smart person and learning from my past mistakes I didn't push it.