Santa 2011

Our neighborhood association hires a Santa every year to come to the club house so parents can take pictures of the kiddos.  He's usually a very realistic looking Santa with a real beard. (Remember 2006?) (What about 2007?)  This year, they ended up with a Third String guy (read: a regular dad from the neighborhood), but he still did a good job.  


Because Maddie is beginning to question the existence of Santa, we had a hard time convincing her to get dressed up and go. She said that if "Santa's beard is perfect and white, he's a fake. If his beard is yellowish and dingy, then he's the real thing." This guy was deemed FAKE, and her face says it all!

I also have this ethical dilemma of telling the kids about the mythical man who "watches" them and likes kids to sit on his lap.  I still took them anyway. It was cute and they had a cookies to decorate! Brooke was particularly interested in chatting with Santa.

Just as he was leaving, Brooke ran up to Santa and said, "Are you the REAL Santa? My sister says you're not real."

Santa appropriately replied that he was indeed the real guy. Then, to the delight of the parents, Brooke walked outside with him and said, "Then where's your sleigh?"

I quickly said, "Oh, the sleigh is getting ready for the big trip on Christmas Eve, so Santa just took his car to come and visit us." Oh, the lies that we tell for these smiles....

For the record, this is my first ever Santa photo with both girls. They've always been too scared to sit on his lap, and since 2006, Maddie has refused to even get near him:

Smart girls.