What Do You Do When You Miss Santa?

I think it’s great the Glasgow Chamber puts together a Christmas Stroll in order to get families together and kick off the holiday season. I have had the pleasure of attending two Christmas Strolls since moving to Glasgow and enjoyed the hayrides put on by Cornwell Ranch, the Festival of Lights parade and seeing Santa. I loved how the Chamber expanded the stroll this year to include free hot chocolate from the Durum and face painting in front of the Children’s Museum by Brianna Overbey.

Unfortunately this year, I could not make the event due to my son running a fever. I mean I could have been an irresponsible parent and member of the community and taken him out anyway to share the germs he had so he had the ability to see Santa for the second time in his life. However another wrench in the plans was that my husband worked until 4 p.m. on Saturday, which meant if we wanted to see Santa as a family then we would have had to hurry up, get a one-year old and a three-year old ready and get to Santa before the 4:30 p.m. end time. Now, in theory, getting two kids and two adults piled into the car, looking picture-worthy, with all of the accessories that two toddlers need, doesn’t seem all that bad. But when those two kids are not feeling the best, and the three-year-old has her own agendas and plans most of the time, let’s be honest, it can take up to 15 minutes to get dressed, presentable and into the car, to then wait in line in order to get minutes with Santa. And let’s be real, a recently mobile one-year old doesn’t nearly have the patience needed to stand in a long line. He wants to be able to explore, while his three-year old sister tries to help Mom and Dad, by also corralling him to be nearby.

I wish Santa would extend the ability to meet him. The stroll itself could be a full jam-packed day, with Santa’s first appearance in the community. After the stroll, Santa could then make an appearance once or twice a week, each week leading up to Christmas to allow those children and families the ability to see Santa. Having multiple options to see Santa will allow families to see him when it works best for them and their situation. I understand Santa is very busy this time of year, so it wouldn’t even have to be the same Santa each time. As long as a Santa helper is there for children leading up to Christmas would be fantastic.

Now, I know Santa made an appearance at the airport on Dec. 4. I was notified of this appearance the day of and saw the times he was going to be at the airport. The times he was at the airport were times that both my husband and I are at work. I was also notified that Santa will be making an appearance at the American Legion Christmas Party, but besides bringing your children to have the opportunity to see Santa, a gift also has to be provided. For those parents who are working and/or have limited income to spend on a gift, I wouldn’t call these opportunities to see Santa very feasible.

In the past, Santa and Mrs. Claus has stopped by McDonalds to allow area children to have breakfast with them, but does that also give the ability for children to sit on their laps, have the children whisper what they want for Christmas into Santa’s ear and proudly exclaim how they have been good all year, helping Mommy and Daddy, helping their siblings? I haven’t had the chance to see Santa and Mrs. Claus at McDonalds, so I don’t know. As of press time, there has also been zero information provided to the community that Santa will even be having breakfast at McDonalds this year.

So because my son was sick on the one opportunity to sit down with Santa during the Christmas stroll, I worked while Santa was at the airport, and I don’t have endless amount of income to purchase another gift, we will have to go out of town if we want the ability for our children to talk to him. Going out of town means I am spending less time supporting the community I live in.

For families with young children, having many opportunities to see Santa would be great and also increase the ability for members of the community to shop locally.