Me and My Big Ideas

So . . . for about a week now I've been hearing advertisements on the radio for Story Time with Santa at the Greentree Mall. There would be FREE crafts for kids, FREE cookies and milk, a pajama parade from one end of the mall to the other, FREE 5x7 photos with Santa, and then a bedtime story read by Santa. I thought, "Wow! That sounds like a ton of fun! We'll have to check it out!" Apparently, a few hundred other people had the same thought I did. Why did I think that it would be a low key event where we would get all this great FREE stuff with very little hassle? I don't know . . . I'm a dork sometimes.

The event started at 7:00 p.m. We showed up about 7:15. The craft supplies were in short supply. There were people EVERYWHERE. The line for Santa pictures was forever long. There was not clear communication about where to get the free cookies and milk. Santa sat in this tiny corner of the children's play area to read the book and only about 10 kids could actually hear him reading. The kids and I were tired and aggravated at the entire situation. We did a craft for about 10 minutes, grabbed our free cookies and milk (Thanks to the Hoylands for actually knowing where to get them), and we left. **Sigh**
It was a treat to run into Abby and her parents. We don't get to see them very often, but Grace loves Abby and talks about her all the time. Evidently, the Hoylands had more patience than I did and more realistic expectations.
This is Grace eating her FREE cookie (I have to say, it was yummy.) and asking, "Where's Santa? I can't see him! I can't hear him!"

So much for my attempt at getting in the holiday spirit. This kind of event is what turns people into Scrooges.