Mood:
irritatedTopic: holidays
Have your kids pictures with Santa taken?
I am horrified at the prices that go along with getting the traditional Santa picture package. What happened to the one picture - a few bucks? I mean after all who are all these people that need upteen gazillion pictures of their sweet, precious cutey-patootey with the Big Mr. C? Who do they send them to? Two sets of grandparents and every friend they've had in their lifetime? Get real parents - no one - except maybe the grandparents - wants a picture of your precious tyke with Santa Claus. It will go into file 13 as soon as Christmas is over - or in a big box of photos that will never be looked at again.
Back to the topic at hand. For the last several years I've taken 1st grader to a local mall - Lewisville Vista Ridge Mall - and he's sat on Santa's lap and told him what he wanted for Christmas while I take my few digital pictures of him. Polite folks, wonderful Santa, short hike to the mall. However this year since Senior daughter works at another mall in a neighboring town and since I had to pick her up anyway one Saturday, figured why not have 1st grader talk to Santa at that mall. DON'T DO IT!!! Especially if you want to take your own pictures (that you can flood your blogs with or make upteen gazillion copies to send to Gramma, Grampa, first cousins, second cousins twice removed, Mr & Mrs. Smith who were your next door neighbors when you were 3, etc.) because they WON'T LET YOU unless you purchase one of their horribly overpriced packages - which starts at $20 (okay so it's really $19.99). I basically pretended the little people who were taking orders weren't really there and after 1st grader did his "What I want for Christmas . . ." with Santa, his mommy & I began snapping pictures. Then the lady at the camera asked what package we wanted to which we replied - "none". This is the conversation that followed -
Camera lady - Oh, you can't take your own pictures unless you buy a package.
Me - Oh well
then we got 1st grader & exited the Santa display - while Santa told us we got lucky. Apparently - since there was NO SIGN that said we couldn't take pictures, the lady taking orders was supposed to tell us when we didn't order that we couldn't take pictures. And since we completely ignored said lady - we got off!
Yeah - so tell me I should tell my g-son that the Santa in this mall won't let Nana or Mommy take a picture because they are out for the almighty DOLLAR - see how well that goes over! And SHAME ON YOU other people who go along with it! From now on we will continue to go to Lewisville Vista Ridge because Santa (and all those photo people there) know the true spirit of the season when it comes to children!
