Mission Santa

Owen was ready this year. He was determined to sit on Santa's lap without being shy or afraid. He even rehearsed what he wanted to ask for.

I think I've been pretty public and vocal about my disappointment regarding the cost of visiting Santa. The various malls in our area don't allow you to take your own photos, and then charge an arm and a leg for the photos they take. I'm a photo guy. I want to have a visual record, a keepsake. I'm also unemployed and not really big on the idea of paying for something I can easily do myself - often just as good as the "Santa Photo Professionals."

Lapeer's Chamber of Commerce Santa is usually a good value. They do charge $4, but you get a 5x7 photo with Mr. and Mrs. Claus. You can also take as many photos as you want with your own camera. This year, Lapeer's Santa wasn't as available as we needed him to be. We promised Owen he could see Santa on Tuesday. Lapeer's Santa was out for the day.

We found a Plan B at Bronner's. Tony July had mentioned that they had a daily Santa, and he was likely free to the public. He was correct.

It was a long drive on a snowy day, but it was well worth it. Bronner's is usually a mad house. They claim to be the biggest Christmas store in the country. If you've ever been to Canterbury Village in Lake Orion, I think Bronner's might be claiming size (square footage), not necessarily selection. But, I've gotten off topic. It wasn't a mad house on Tuesday. It was busy, but not 'weekends just before Christmas' busy. There was maybe four kids in front of us in line.

Owen hopped up on Santa's lap without hesitation. He was a little shy, but he still launched into his list. To our astonishment, he started telling Santa that he wanted Power Rangers. He's never watched the show, and really doesn't understand what the show is about. My jaw dropped as he told Santa he preferred a purple ranger. What?

Gage watched from the sidelines. Just before Owen hopped down, Gage acted like he wanted to go up, so we let him. As soon as the big man put his arm around him, Gage started to bellow. Too strange of a situation I guess.

We spent another half hour touring the store, which is fun for the kids and the kids in all of us. We didn't even break down and buy anything (they did have an awesome green Christmas monkey). The entire trip only cost us the price of the gasoline to drive that far. It was a snowy mess on the way home, but that only added to the realization that Christmas is not far away.