Santa Scare

This week has been a week of Christmas parties for us. It began with our ward Christmas party on Tuesday night. I knew a "certain" visitor would be there, so we spent the day preparing Madeline for the big night. We've actually never stayed at any of our past Christmas parties long enough to see Santa, so this was all new for little Madeline. We talked about how the children sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they want for Christmas. She had her list down. She was ready.

The evening began with dinner, of which she refused all but the cinnamon rolls and Christmas candy. Dinner was followed by a short program. At the end of the program all of the primary children stood in front of the stage to sing a few songs. Madeline's eyes got wide, and she asked, "Mommy, can I please go sing with the other children. I really, really want to". So, up she went. She looked adorable up there looking at the other kids, and not singing a word. She's so exited to grow up. Little does she know that she'll have to spend another whole year in nursery. She happened to be standing next to the dessert table during the little serenade, and every few seconds would reach up to try and steal a morsel, only to be met by "No, Madeline" whispers from her mean parents.

She ran back to our table, and Santa made his big appearance. Her face fell in fear, and she refused to look at him as he walked across the gym to his special chair. There wasn't a chance she was going to sit on his lap. We were able to get close enough to watch Santa without a major meltdown. I saw that Santa was handing out a pretty big bag of candy to each child who sat on his lap. I tried to entice Madeline with the big bag of candy, but she just replied, "No, I don't want any candy today. Not today, Mommy".

On the way home we talked about how Santa was going to know what to get her for Christmas. She said, "That's ok. I don't need any presents from Santa". She really thought he wouldn't bring her anything, and would rather that than sit on his lap! So, we've settled on writing him a letter with her list.