Santa 2013
We have had several Santa sightings this year, starting on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Noni was visiting us that week and she accompanied Everett along with the twins for their first meeting with Santa. Our next sighting was two days after Thanksgiving for the Santa Rampage. It took a fair amount of preparation to get the entire family on the Rampage, but it all worked out. At around 7am we got dressed: Chris as Santa, Melissa as Santa’s helper, Everett as Rudolph and the twins as baby Santa and a baby reindeer. Melissa got on her bike and we loaded Everett and the twins into the front of the Bakfiets, and finally attached the Santa trailer with Christmas playlist and stereo and headed to Cranky Al’s. It was our first bike ride with the entire family and it was a great way to start the Rampage. Breakfast consisted of coffee, hot chocolate and doughnuts (Bavarian cream for Chris and Melissa, chocolate with sprinkles for Everett). Afterward we returned home to drop off the children and switch bikes, and then Chris and Melissa went to Café Hollander for the official start. This was the first year Melissa joined the rampage and it was fantastic – after Hollander we rode the tandem with the Santa trailer attached to the Lakefront Brewery for more festivities before Melissa headed back home to care for the children. Chris left soon afterward and rode with Jesus to Conejito’s Place for lunch.
The following Friday we walked to the village for the lighting of the Christmas tree and the arrival of Santa. Once again, all of our children got to meet with him at this annual tradition. Santa arrives on a fire engine, and after the tree lighting he sits in the back of Paulina. The line to meet with him goes from the storefront all the way to the back of the store through a hallway that is too narrow to accommodate the stroller and entourage, so we parked it in the front of the store and carried the babies in our arms. Teddy spit up in Chris’ arms just before it was our turn to meet Santa; most of it went on the floor, but a fair amount of it also went onto Chris’ jacket and arms. Fortunately there were many other parents nearby, including the owner of the store who has three children, one of whom is a newborn, and many of them offered paper towels and sympathetic responses. So Chris squatted to the ground with Teddy in one arm while trying to clean the spit up off himself and the floor with his free hand, and at the same time preventing any nearby children from walking through it. Everett decided that this would be a good time to undress and asked Chris “Dada, can you hold my hat and gloves and jacket?” Um, no. On a related subject, Chris had a work dinner recently with an Italian colleague who proclaimed that Italy has a saint for everything, so Chris asked if they have one for logical behavior from children (adults are a different matter). It appears that the answer to this question is also no.
The Santa story is a story most parents experience in one way or another…yours is priceless. It was nice of Teddy to give Everett more time with Santa. I want to experience the Santa Rampage, with Jesus, someday soon.