It's Christmas! Day 12: Seeing Santa

It’s Christmas! is a 25 day blog and vlog segment that I’ll be doing this December to bring you crafts, reviews, and ideas to make your Christmas season even more fun this year (especially, with this pandemic thing we’re all trying to navigate).

Hopefully, my family can inspire yours to not let this crazy year ruin the holiday season for you.

Going to see Santa is something we’ve done every year since my son was born. At first, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to even take the risk involved with my son seeing Santa. In fact, I had basically decided it wasn’t going to happen. Then, I saw an ad on Facebook for Bass Pro Shop’s Santa Experience. It looked like a really good option with all the precautions they were taking. So, I talked about it with my husband and he approved. My next step was to talk to my son. He was honestly so excited that we had found a way for him to still see Santa. We made sure to set his expectations at a realistic level. You’re not going to sit on Santa’s lap. Instead, you’re going to sit on a wooden bench in front of him. There will also be a plexiglass wall between you and Santa. You can still talk to him, though. You might just have to talk a little louder since you'll be standing 6 feet away. You’ll need to wear a mask except for when they're taking your picture. And you know what his response was? “So, I’ll still get to see him, talk to him, and take my picture with him?” “Yes.” “Sounds good to me!”

I mean, come on, so proud of his positive attitude.

So, I had to make a reservation in order to see Santa. I believe I saw somewhere that they allow up to 5 families per 15 minute reservation period. However, I’m not 100% sure about that. Reservations are released 7 days prior at midnight. We already knew we wanted to go on a weekday to make sure the crowds in the store wouldn’t be very heavy.

When we got there, we checked in, got our temperature taken, and then waited 6 feet away from the family in front of us. They had a cute little Bass Pro Shop themed 12 days of Christmas thing going on for the 6ft apart place markers. We got there early so we did have to wait a while. And while it didn't feel like they rushed anyone with Santa, we also didn't feel like we waited very long. We also watched the girl sanitize between each group which made us feel better. Overall, our experience with Santa was great! We received our FREE picture, a cute little color-your-own ornament, and a pouch of hot cocoa. I ended up paying $15 online in order to download the picture digitally because I wanted to be able to print it.

So don’t let the pandemic get you down. Whether it's seeing Santa virtually or through a plexiglass wall, don’t miss out on seeing Santa this year.

And as always, from my family to yours, Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas! Day 4: Write a Letter to Santa

It’s Christmas! is a 25 day blog and vlog segment that I’ll be doing this December to bring you crafts, reviews, and ideas to make your Christmas season even more fun this year (especially, with this pandemic thing we’re all trying to navigate).

Hopefully, my family can inspire yours to not let this crazy year ruin the holiday season for you.

One thing that most families do every year, is write a letter to Santa. I wanted this letter to be special this year. My son is 10 years old and still believes in Santa. I know some parents out there think he’s too old and should know better, but I say, keep the magic alive for as long as possible. That being said, he’s going to stop believing soon, so again, I wanted this letter to be special.

I started by printing off a template for the letter to make it look extra special. I had my son use a fancy pen to write his ideas. In order to teach my son what the holiday is all about, I decided to give him some ideas. Santa is a very generous and important man. You should do your best to speak to him (or write to him) with respect. For instance, just saying I want this and I want that comes across as a little demanding. So, in order to be more polite, perhaps you could start your letter with appreciation for his generous acts in years past. You could apologize for the mean or rude things you’ve done this year. You could tell Santa how you’re going to work on being a better person in the future. Don’t forget to also tell Santa what you would like for Christmas, though. And make sure you thank him for his time. Sign your name at the end so Santa knows who sent him this amazing letter.

Here’s how my son’s turned out:

Make sure your kids write to Santa this year and every year to keep that magic alive!

And as always, from my family to yours, Merry Christmas!