Breakfast with Santa

A few weeks ago I received a notice from the local mall that they were offering a free "Breakfast with Santa" activity. I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to re-introduce Ryan to Santa before we actually went to visit him and take pictures.

We talked about Santa all week:

• What does he look like?
• Does he have a beard?
• What does he sounds like when he laughs?
• Does he wear boots and a belt?
• Does he wear a hat?

And we read a few books about Santa and Christmas eve. I wanted to try to prepare him for Santa and hopefully calm any fears that he might have.

When the day came, he was SO excited. I would ask him "Ryan, what do you want Santa to bring you for Christmas?" and he'd quickly reply: "A new red bike!!!!". I'd ask him if he wanted anything else and he'd say "NO! Just a red bike!" I tried to prompt him for other things like a computer, games, DVDs, etc and he would always respond with "no toys...just a bike".

We were there about 15 minutes early and we were 2nd in line to check in. The mall did a really nice job and had all kinds of "free" stuff: food, drinks, crafts, coupons, etc. We met Santa while in line and again at our table. Ryan didn't show even an ounce of fear. He was a little shy but as you can see - nothing but smiles!

We didn't get a chance to tell Santa about the red bike but we'll write a letter soon and mail it...and then we'll go see him at the mall to sit on his lap.