As a parent now, I’m experiencing Christmas from a whole new perspective. Last night, I took my youngest daughter to the local tea room for Cocoa and Cookies with Santa. The night was, dare say it, truly magical. It started with the tea room itself, which was beautifully lit on the outside, and decorated to the hilt inside, with multiple Christmas trees and wreaths all around the dining area. The cocoa and cookies were splendid and fancy, complete with marshmallows and chocolate chips to drop into the cocoa. There was a painting of cherubs behind me, which my daughter noticed and pointed out to me “Daddy, there are naked babies singing behind you”. After about a half hour of enjoing this time together, the big guy himself came through the door, walked around, said hi to everyone and then set up shop in the back room and called each child one by one.
It was wonderful to see my little girl’s face as she was finally called back to see Santa. She was a little shy at first but warmed up when Santa mentioned that he had seen her in Myrtle Beach at Thanksgiving. How did Santa know she had seen him at the Christmas show in Myrtle Beach? Well, the tea room had called a couple of days before and asked for some information that she wouldn’t have expected him to know and boy did that work on her. Her face lit up and she truly believed that this was Santa Claus.
Re-experiencing the innocence and belief in Christmas through the eyes of a parent might be even sweeter than when I was a child myself. It’s hard sometimes as an adult to slow down and enjoy those moments, especially as I have my phone out texting and taking pictures at the same time as trying to take in the joy of the moment, but at one point I did exactly that, putting the phone down, having a conversation with my daughter and just enjoying the season together. That’s true magic.
Fondness for Memory 