After last year's Santa picture fiasco, I was understandably quite nervous about this year's picture. For those of you who read the post from last year (click here to read it), you know that it didn't turn out as well as I had imagined.
This is the infamous picture from last year, and let me just tell you, it was much worse with audio!
I was determined to find a way to get Presley to like Santa, and thus get my perfect Santa picture. I knew that there had to be a strategy behind it. After all, kids aren't just born with the instinct to love a giant man with a white beard who makes you sit on his lap once year, then sneaks into your house while you sleep to leave a present under your tree. I had a to formulate a strategic plan that would turn my dream of Presley loving Santa into a reality. Only one problem, I had absolutely no idea how to do this.
As the summer months drew to an end and fall was very slowly making its way to Austin, I started to worry about how I would tackle this obstacle ahead of me. The number of days were beginning to tick away until the Christmas season and I knew Presley was no closer to wanting to see Santa then she had been last year. Luckily, one day in November, I got a little help from none other than Santa, himself!
We were at the mall and noticed that Santa was there ready for kids to sit on his lap, tell him what they wanted for Christmas, and have their picture taken. We decided to walk by and show Presley. We knew she would never sit with him, but thought it might be fun to just say "Hi" to Santa and then be on our way. Nobody was in line so we walked right up. We told him that she was too scared to sit with him. He was so nice and suggested that we just let him give her a candy cane. To our surprise, he told us that we needed to let her do it on her own and he wanted her to come get the candy cane by herself. Normally we wouldn't let anyone tell us what to do with our daughter, but for some reason when Santa tells you to do something you just do it...no questions asked. Blaine and I put her on the ground and Presley, very hesitantly, walked over to him to get her candy cane. When she did, he acted like he dropped it and then he picked her up when she went for the candy cane. Of course she was shocked and started to cry. But he put her down, told her thank you for coming to see him, and she happily walked away with her candy. He then told me to let her come visit every few weeks until Christmas until she got a little more comfortable with him. It was a brilliant idea to help get her used to the idea of Santa. But the answer didn't lie in Santa fabulous advice. The key to this whole mystery was right in Presley little hands...the candy cane!
She had never had a candy cane before but as soon as she took her first lick, she was hooked! She loved it and relished every single bite. All that day she kept telling us that Santa gave her a candy cane. I knew right then and there what I had to do. I had to remind her of how wonderful that precious candy cane was from Santa. I had to make her want more, but not give it to her. Only Santa gives us these wonderful treats. When we saw them in the store, and she would ask for one, I would remind her that we had to get them from Santa. We decorated our tree with tons of candy canes, but we wouldn't let her have any. At this point, you might be thinking that this is a bit cruel, and I admit it was a tad harsh, but it was working. She now associated her favorite new candy with Jolly Old St. Nick!
But I couldn't rely on candy canes alone. There had to be more to this plan...something that would top it off and make her beyond eager to see Santa. And then I realized how simple it was. What had parents been doing for years and years? What was the real reason all kids love Santa? What is his whole reason for being? What is his purpose? Yep, you guessed it...PRESENTS!
Step #1 was complete...make her love and want the candy that only Santa can give.
Step #2: make her aware that Santa will bring her gifts on Christmas morning.
This one was easy. Whenever Mimi or YaYa come over, they always come bearing gifts. Presley knows this, has possibly come to expect it, and loves it!!! She's figured out how much fun it is to get something new. How wonderful it feels to tear open a box and get to play with a new toy. Over the next several weeks, whenever she got something new, I reminded her that Santa would also give her a new toy. We read books each night about Santa and how he brings toys to good girls and boys on Christmas Eve. We watched shows about Santa and sang songs about Santa. She was starting to get the idea.
Step #1: check
Step #2: check
Step #3: Find the one toy she wants more than anything and in the world and make her believe that she can only have it if she tells Santa what it is.
To be honest, I had no idea what this toy would be. Blaine and I thought for weeks and weeks about what Santa could get her. We went through so many different options, but nothing felt right. So we decided to take Pres to Toys R Us one day and let her walk around until she found something that she liked. We took her to all the toys that we thought would be good gifts, but of course, she didn't like any of them. She didn't seem to be interested in much of anything until she finally saw it. Blaine and I walked right passed it, thinking she was too young, but once she saw it, she wouldn't leave. She had decided right then and there that she wanted...a bike, a pink bike! We kept trying to urge her towards other toys, but she would not leave the bikes. She sat down by the pink bike and said, very clearly, "This bike!". Okay, problem solved...she wanted a bike for Christmas, so how could we say no? It would be like if Ralphie wasn't able to get his Red Ryder BB Gun!
So everything was set in place and all our steps were completed. All that remained was to put all our hard work to the test and go visit Santa.
We decided to go see Santa on Friday, after Presley's nap. That's when she's generally the happiest and at her most agreeable. Blaine took the day off of work (after last year I was not about to attempt this on my own) and we headed to the mall about 3:00. I secretly put a candy cane in my purse from our tree just in case Santa didn't have any. We were about he 10th person in line to see Santa. I was worried that Pres would see what we were waiting to do and freak out, but she calmly let Blaine hold her while we waited. We kept reminding her that she would see Santa soon and she would need to tell him what she wanted him to bring her for Christmas.
As we got closer and closer to the big moment, my heart started to race. All these lovely children in front of us had happily sat on Santa's lap and smiled for their photo. What on Earth would my child do???
Our time had finally come. I quickly pulled the candy cane out of my purse and gave it to her to hold as a distraction. Blaine slowly walked her over to Santa and bent down to put her on his lap. I held my breath for a minute and waited, as time seemed to stand still, for the inevitable scream that I knew would sure to be coming. But to my surprise, I heard nothing. There was no panic, no tears, no look of fear, screams or sobs. I stared in amazement as this little girl calmly sat on Santa's lap. Then, without any prompting from us (we were too shocked at how well she was doing to speak), she looked at Santa and said "Bike!". She said it over and over again. Santa looked at me with a confused expression and I quickly snapped out of my daze to translate for him: "That's right, you want Santa to bring you a bike for Christmas". Then the most perfect thing happened...she looked straight at the lady with the camera just as I heard it click and take the perfect Santa picture! When they were done, Santa put her back on the ground, told her good-bye, and gave her a candy cane lollipop. As we left, she actually blew him a kiss as we walked away. The first thing she did was hand me back the candy cane I had given her and asked to eat the lollipop that had come from Santa Claus. I don't think she had ever had a lollipop, and I didn't know that she knew what it was. But it had come from Santa and that's all she cared about.
Behold, our perfect Santa picture:
I am so proud of Presley! She did an amazing job and was such a big girl.
When we got home that night, as we were getting ready for bed, Presley told us that she wanted to go back to the mall and see Santa again. We told her that Santa went back to the North Pole to go to sleep for the night, but we could go see him again in a few days. She then proceeded to throw herself on the floor, pitch a fit, and scream "Santa! Mall!"
Oh well, guess you can't win them all!
Merry Christmas, Everyone!
This is the infamous picture from last year, and let me just tell you, it was much worse with audio!
I was determined to find a way to get Presley to like Santa, and thus get my perfect Santa picture. I knew that there had to be a strategy behind it. After all, kids aren't just born with the instinct to love a giant man with a white beard who makes you sit on his lap once year, then sneaks into your house while you sleep to leave a present under your tree. I had a to formulate a strategic plan that would turn my dream of Presley loving Santa into a reality. Only one problem, I had absolutely no idea how to do this.
As the summer months drew to an end and fall was very slowly making its way to Austin, I started to worry about how I would tackle this obstacle ahead of me. The number of days were beginning to tick away until the Christmas season and I knew Presley was no closer to wanting to see Santa then she had been last year. Luckily, one day in November, I got a little help from none other than Santa, himself!
We were at the mall and noticed that Santa was there ready for kids to sit on his lap, tell him what they wanted for Christmas, and have their picture taken. We decided to walk by and show Presley. We knew she would never sit with him, but thought it might be fun to just say "Hi" to Santa and then be on our way. Nobody was in line so we walked right up. We told him that she was too scared to sit with him. He was so nice and suggested that we just let him give her a candy cane. To our surprise, he told us that we needed to let her do it on her own and he wanted her to come get the candy cane by herself. Normally we wouldn't let anyone tell us what to do with our daughter, but for some reason when Santa tells you to do something you just do it...no questions asked. Blaine and I put her on the ground and Presley, very hesitantly, walked over to him to get her candy cane. When she did, he acted like he dropped it and then he picked her up when she went for the candy cane. Of course she was shocked and started to cry. But he put her down, told her thank you for coming to see him, and she happily walked away with her candy. He then told me to let her come visit every few weeks until Christmas until she got a little more comfortable with him. It was a brilliant idea to help get her used to the idea of Santa. But the answer didn't lie in Santa fabulous advice. The key to this whole mystery was right in Presley little hands...the candy cane!
She had never had a candy cane before but as soon as she took her first lick, she was hooked! She loved it and relished every single bite. All that day she kept telling us that Santa gave her a candy cane. I knew right then and there what I had to do. I had to remind her of how wonderful that precious candy cane was from Santa. I had to make her want more, but not give it to her. Only Santa gives us these wonderful treats. When we saw them in the store, and she would ask for one, I would remind her that we had to get them from Santa. We decorated our tree with tons of candy canes, but we wouldn't let her have any. At this point, you might be thinking that this is a bit cruel, and I admit it was a tad harsh, but it was working. She now associated her favorite new candy with Jolly Old St. Nick!
But I couldn't rely on candy canes alone. There had to be more to this plan...something that would top it off and make her beyond eager to see Santa. And then I realized how simple it was. What had parents been doing for years and years? What was the real reason all kids love Santa? What is his whole reason for being? What is his purpose? Yep, you guessed it...PRESENTS!
Step #1 was complete...make her love and want the candy that only Santa can give.
Step #2: make her aware that Santa will bring her gifts on Christmas morning.
This one was easy. Whenever Mimi or YaYa come over, they always come bearing gifts. Presley knows this, has possibly come to expect it, and loves it!!! She's figured out how much fun it is to get something new. How wonderful it feels to tear open a box and get to play with a new toy. Over the next several weeks, whenever she got something new, I reminded her that Santa would also give her a new toy. We read books each night about Santa and how he brings toys to good girls and boys on Christmas Eve. We watched shows about Santa and sang songs about Santa. She was starting to get the idea.
Step #1: check
Step #2: check
Step #3: Find the one toy she wants more than anything and in the world and make her believe that she can only have it if she tells Santa what it is.
To be honest, I had no idea what this toy would be. Blaine and I thought for weeks and weeks about what Santa could get her. We went through so many different options, but nothing felt right. So we decided to take Pres to Toys R Us one day and let her walk around until she found something that she liked. We took her to all the toys that we thought would be good gifts, but of course, she didn't like any of them. She didn't seem to be interested in much of anything until she finally saw it. Blaine and I walked right passed it, thinking she was too young, but once she saw it, she wouldn't leave. She had decided right then and there that she wanted...a bike, a pink bike! We kept trying to urge her towards other toys, but she would not leave the bikes. She sat down by the pink bike and said, very clearly, "This bike!". Okay, problem solved...she wanted a bike for Christmas, so how could we say no? It would be like if Ralphie wasn't able to get his Red Ryder BB Gun!
So everything was set in place and all our steps were completed. All that remained was to put all our hard work to the test and go visit Santa.
We decided to go see Santa on Friday, after Presley's nap. That's when she's generally the happiest and at her most agreeable. Blaine took the day off of work (after last year I was not about to attempt this on my own) and we headed to the mall about 3:00. I secretly put a candy cane in my purse from our tree just in case Santa didn't have any. We were about he 10th person in line to see Santa. I was worried that Pres would see what we were waiting to do and freak out, but she calmly let Blaine hold her while we waited. We kept reminding her that she would see Santa soon and she would need to tell him what she wanted him to bring her for Christmas.
As we got closer and closer to the big moment, my heart started to race. All these lovely children in front of us had happily sat on Santa's lap and smiled for their photo. What on Earth would my child do???
Our time had finally come. I quickly pulled the candy cane out of my purse and gave it to her to hold as a distraction. Blaine slowly walked her over to Santa and bent down to put her on his lap. I held my breath for a minute and waited, as time seemed to stand still, for the inevitable scream that I knew would sure to be coming. But to my surprise, I heard nothing. There was no panic, no tears, no look of fear, screams or sobs. I stared in amazement as this little girl calmly sat on Santa's lap. Then, without any prompting from us (we were too shocked at how well she was doing to speak), she looked at Santa and said "Bike!". She said it over and over again. Santa looked at me with a confused expression and I quickly snapped out of my daze to translate for him: "That's right, you want Santa to bring you a bike for Christmas". Then the most perfect thing happened...she looked straight at the lady with the camera just as I heard it click and take the perfect Santa picture! When they were done, Santa put her back on the ground, told her good-bye, and gave her a candy cane lollipop. As we left, she actually blew him a kiss as we walked away. The first thing she did was hand me back the candy cane I had given her and asked to eat the lollipop that had come from Santa Claus. I don't think she had ever had a lollipop, and I didn't know that she knew what it was. But it had come from Santa and that's all she cared about.
Behold, our perfect Santa picture:
I am so proud of Presley! She did an amazing job and was such a big girl.When we got home that night, as we were getting ready for bed, Presley told us that she wanted to go back to the mall and see Santa again. We told her that Santa went back to the North Pole to go to sleep for the night, but we could go see him again in a few days. She then proceeded to throw herself on the floor, pitch a fit, and scream "Santa! Mall!"
Oh well, guess you can't win them all!
Merry Christmas, Everyone!
