Meeting Santa 2010

We took the Nugget to meet Santa this weekend. Some local businesses sponsor a free downtown Christmas celebration, including DIY photos with Santa in a...well, it's a shed, a chocolate at the candy shop, cookie decorating at a museum, and a trolley ride. Here is the Nugget, enjoying the outing.

You can see that he is much more interested in the trolley and the free junk food than in Santa. We try to downplay the material aspect of Christmas, so I think the Nugget still doesn't quite understand the whole aura surrounding the big guy. However, he was game to go give Santa a quick hug and a half-smile for the camera. When Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas, he said, "Chocolate." I think he was remembering the pattern from the previous two years we've attended. Santa was very pleased to give him the gold sticker that you show to redeem your chocolate; I imagine it was a thrill to grant a wish immediately! The Nugget is lurching out of the photo, because he's spotted the trolley pulling up to the station and is ready to ride! He is also sporting the ubiquitous winter booger, even though I'd wiped his nose just seconds before. Awesome.

Giraffe came with us, and she has been bragging about recapping her adventures to all the other stuffed animals. It's so much fun to hear him make his plushies speak.