It’s that time of year! The stores are playing holiday music. Garlands, lights and decorations hang from ceilings. And Santa arrives in almost every major mall, ready to bring joy and laughter to parents and children of all ages.
Unless you’re terrified of him.
I have one picture of myself at age 3 with Santa. My face is blank and my hands are clenched in fists that scream, “why have you left me with this strange man mommy?” Santa even visited my house one year. My neighbour dressed up in red and white and brought over a sack of presents on Christmas Eve. I don’t think I moved an inch or made a noise. I was simply frozen with fear.
A few years later, my best friend Valerie convinced me to come with her to the mall to get a free candy cane from the jolly old elf himself. When it came time to go up to his center court, my face grew hot and my heart threatened to burst from my chest. So I hid behind an escalator while she greeted and chatted up Santa.
He was nice and gave her an extra candy cane just for me.
Now that it’s cold outside, we’ve been spending more time at the mall. Each day that we go, I check out Santa’s Royal Court. It’s only mid-December and already there are massive line ups filled with genuinely excited children, glum tweens who’d rather be shopping, teenagers excited for free candy and wonderfully cute babies — all waiting on pins and needles to sit on Santa’s lap. Occasionally, there’s a piercing shriek from a baby (or two) who after standing in a boring line for hours, being stuck in uncomfortable formal clothes, having a well-intentioned parent brush their hair again, and again, and again, is sick of the strange elves making goofy-not-really-funny-faces, finally just loses it when placed upon a stranger’s lap.
Of course there are many wonderful smile-filled pictures and memories with the mall Santa. But sometimes it’s overkill, and parents desperate for a smiling photo will keep that baby howling on this stranger’s lap for far too long. Every year I’m asked, why do parents do this to their children?
wood turtle 