At Christmastime, many families start planning their trip to visit Santa. For many, that trip has traditionally been in the Mall where you wait on long lines with perfectly dressed kids to see the man of the season. That visit, then doubles as the photoshoot for many Christmas cards. Well that wasn't going to really work for us this year and here is why.
1) We only dress up if we have to. We are comfy clothes people and not ashamed of it. My kid's smile is adorable in a button down AND a a zip up. In fact, if I put him in something other than sweat pants, I count it as semi dressed up lol.
2) At 21 months, we don't like lines. They aren't toddler friendly.
3) We're not sure if we like Santa. We're in the stranger danger faze and Santa is someone we don't really know and have limited experience with him.
Lucky for people like us-- there are a lot of other places you can meet Santa in an experience that feels a bit more chill. Last year, Santa used to be at Berry Fresh Farms where I would buy my beautiful holiday door wreath. It was low key and amazing and most people didn't know about it. Mrs. Claus was often there with him! Berry Fresh Farms has unfortunately closed so we needed to opt for a new experience. With an invite from my Mom, we decided that we would meet the jolly elf at the Blue Claws stadium.
I know-- baseball stadium in December? YES! The Blue Claws were throwing an INDOOR event in their souvenir store (smart of them, right?). At the event, Toys for Tots had a toy drive and you could head into the store for hot chocolate and meetings with Santa and the Blue Claws mascot- Buster!
My toddler liked Buster from afar, but got a little nervous when he came up close. By the end of our time there, Buster grew on him and even got a high five! The Santa here was lovely and my little boy was more comfortable than I expected. He told Santa "Merry Christmas" (Mommy translated so Santa knew that was what he said) and said "Ho ho ho" back to Santa's "ho ho ho." No tears, but definitely didn't want to be with Santa by himself. My mom and I chalked it as a huge win for a 21 month old nugget! Santa got a high five and a fist pound too!
After hanging with Santa, we colored a Christmas picture (too young to write a Christmas list which was also an activity there) and chatted with another family there for the event. Then of course, we had to buy our very own Buster to take home (he was growing on us!). The store offered discounts and even mystery merch bags. The whole thing was simple but really sweet-- but the icing on the cake was free tickets to the opening day game in April for donating to Toys for Tots! How cool!
No lines, no craziness, just a little holiday spirit mixed with a little baseball. We loved it and will definitely be choosing events like this for any future Santa visits. Kudos to BlueClaws Charities for arranging.
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