A visit to Santaland

Day 3 on our advent calendar was home to the voucher that Ava had most eagerly awaited: Visit Santa at Macy's!

"Visit Santa at Macy's" - the voucher we've been waiting for!

For weeks Ava has been asking if we can go see Santa. For weeks I've been telling her that she has to wait until it comes up in the advent calendar. You can imagine how excited she was when she saw the name Santa on the voucher. She couldn't read the rest of it but she recognised that one word and that was all she needed!

So, last night after Ava's iceskating lesson (and Holiday Ice Spectacular rehearsal) we headed to Macy's to meet the man.

Ava was pretty excited but Lola was a little apprehensive, especially after seeing a particularly seedy looking Santa here in Berkeley last week! The REAL Santa at Macy's however, is friendly and inviting and engages with the kids in a way that really warms them to him. Ava popped up on his lap straight away and started reeling off the list of things that she'd like for Christmas: an electric dog called Bouncy, a scooter, a fortune cookie maker... Lola hung back a little and when asked what she'd like for Christmas she yelled across the room "A present and a ball and a toy truck"!

After a little while Lola felt more comfortable with Santa and was happy to stand in front of him and pose for photos - but only if she could be on the same side as Ava. For the first time ever we ended up with photos of both girls smiling with Santa. Woo hoo!


Here's a look at the girls with Santa.

Our "official" Santa portrait

Ava tells Santa what she'd like while Lola says "cheeeeeeese"!

Ava helps Lola tell Santa what she'd like for Christmas

Everyone looking at the camera at the same time? YES!

Checking out the giant Christmas tree and ice skating rink in Union Square from Macy's

So many twinkling lights in the Christmas department