Who's that kissing Santa?

Both of our kids went to the same daycare, and while it was far across town, it was homey and they did a lot of domestic stuff that we didn't have to do or never would do. Like Easter Egg hunts. We don't celebrate Easter, but to have a egg hunt for kids? That's pretty cool, I guess. Kid experiences make good memories.

Trick or Treating is another thing. We live in a downtown area which makes Trick or Treating challenging under normal circumstances, and the fact that jobs and such make it even more of a nuisance lead us to generally skip the event itself. Plus, our kids just don't really know, but they're getting to the age where they DO know, the Boy at least knows that we're kinda sheisty about it.

Santa visits are another thing. We've never "gone to see Santa," like at a mall or...where else do these Santas do these photo ops? The daycare hosts a Christmas Party and has Santa come in and hand out gifts for all the kids and their siblings who are in attendance. This has been our Santa excursions.

Every year someone else gets to be Santa. Like earlier, when they asked Corrie to be the Easter Bunny, they asked someone else to be Santa, someone who's daughter will age out of their establishment next year, someone who was already a bespectacled, hairy, and jovial dude:

When it was Cass's turn to get his gift, near the end of the bag searches---a fairly long time in which he spent staring at me quizzically---he approached Santa and said, "You remind me of my dad."

"Woh, ho, ho, why do you think that might be, little dude?" I asked in the same cartoony baritone I'd been using the whole time. I enjoyed the moment, and as he left after collecting his new Slinky he leaned in close and said, "Thanks for the Slinky, dad."

One of the gifts said "Mrs. Claus." When I pulled out the box and called out for Mrs. Claus, Corrie came bouncing over, said "Thank you, Santa, darling," and gave me a kiss. 

In the picture above, Camille, our daughter, is the little girl in the blue-topped dress and blond hair in a bun, mystified as to why mom's kissing Santa. She never seemed to realize the gig. She never let on, at least.

For our last daycare Christmas party, it was pretty special and cool.