'Anta Laus

We went to a little Christmas tree display (like a "Festival of Trees", but MUCH smaller) to help kick off our Christmas season. They had a Santa there and meeting him was free (thank you small towns).

Sarah had already learned to identify the red and white man. But identifying is not quite the same as appreciating...which she did not.

Leah tried to introduce her. It didn't go well. Notice that both Leah and Daniel find some humor in this situation.

When it came down to it, Sarah was OK to be near him as long as he didn't try to touch her. You'll notice that two of my children are not in this "group" photo.

Daniel, who long ago learned the magic behind Santa Claus, really just wanted the candy cane.

Nathan didn't know about Santa's magic yet at this time. He is happy to meet the jolly fellow. :) And now we see someone creeping into the scene. When Joseph realized that candy canes were being given away, his courage kicked in and he started inching closer.

Next was Leah's turn. Leah has yet to learn the truth of Santa' magic, but she wasn't fooled by this guy. She knew he was just the real Santa's helper, dressed up to make the kids happy. Do you see that Joseph has moved about a half an inch closer?

Finally, it was time to push away the fear and go get that candy cane! If I remember correctly, Joseph didn't say anything at all, but he didn't cry, either.

Sadly, the same can't be said for Rebekah. We are still not sure what made her react this way. She doesn't fear Santa. She just wasn't feeling it this night, I guess. She still got a candy cane.

And poor Sarah. She was really out of her comfort zone here. But it makes for a cute picture. Thanks for helping her out, Daddy!

Those were some interesting responses to Santa Claus. I hope that our next meeting will be a little more friendly. Santa still said they were cute kids. Maybe he really is the real Santa!