A new Christmas tradition

We didn't post about it, unfortunately, but we visited with Santa atop the Hancock tower last December. Maybe we just didn't come away with any good photos, other than the hard copy Santa gave us.

Anyway, it left such an impression on Mom that she insisted we return this year, and we finally made it there today, of all days.

We weren't sure how crowded it would get. It was really busy and the line was long to see Santa on that random day last year. As it turned out, though, we arrived shortly before Santa arrived a little after 11 a.m., and we were the first (and only) family in line!

And, for the first time in her life, Levynn did not fear a living, breathing Santa. In fact, after Mr. and Mrs. Claus appeared, he knelt down in front of her, and she lunged into his arms to give him a huge hug. (Look at Mom's reaction.)



We have to give the big man credit. He's a phenomenal Santa. He's friendly, but gently so, like a teddy bear of a grandpa; and he's patient, taking the time to chat with each family and make everyone comfortable (which was one reason the line moved so slowly last year). He had Levynn at "Hello," and even Lincoln, who did fuss, at least didn't try to jump out of his lap.

So Mom and Dad were very pleased.

We also "cleaned windows" and watched the neat holiday-themed train set in the tower's lobby, just as we did last year.


What did we do differently? We ate lunch at the Cheesecake Factory downstairs!



We wanted to do that last year, but the wait to be seated made Santa's line look like a 100-meter dash. This time, however, the restaurant was all but empty, and we were given a great table.

So we think we'll do this on Christmas Eve every year!