Santa Photos 2019

As Christmas draws ever closer (boy, do I have a lot of baking to do!!), I can't help but look at our family's to-do list with a keen eye. That keen eye caught a detail about one of our family traditions in the Seattle Times recently that sent the rest of me into a bit of a panic.

The article was about the major renovations taking place at our local mall. No problem. No biggie. Near the end of the article, there was a mention about how Santa is not scheduled to visit the mall this year. PROBLEM!!!! BIGGIE!!!! We've had the same Santa in the kids' photos (except for 1 year) since Annika was a baby. The. Same. Guy. Another mom from the kids' school tracked him down and found out he is now working in Puyallup. Not overly helpful.

That's when I had my ah-ha moment. We have a jolly elf right in the family!! My cousin's husband is one of the Santas at Nordstrom in Bellevue. WIN!! I found out when he was scheduled to work and we made it happen!

We had a little time to kill before we could get into the store, so the kids and I poked around a few stores as we meandered to Nordstrom. The kids even got in a gave of chess in the middle of the mall. Of course, that experience completely fell apart when Conor claimed to have won the game and Annika insisted that he didn't say "check" when he should have. Ah... the Christmas spirit is alive and well.... until a game of oversized chess is on the line. Oy!

Chess, anyone?

FINALLY, we got into the store and stood in line for our photos. Fortunately, we were 5th in line, so we didn't have to wait very long. The photographer was wonderful and really worked to ensure he got a good shot before moving down the line of people.

OF COURSE, Santa was amazing, too! (Side note: Annika knew Uncle Joe was under the beard.... Conor didn't. Annika loved being in on the secret and made sure to whisper "Merry Christmas, Uncle Joe" as she and Conor left his chair.) After getting their photos taken, they got to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas. Annika asked for an iPod case. Conor asked for world peace .... hope you're up for a challenge, Santa! 😋

The kids with Santa

Naturally, I snapped a quick selfie with Santa, too! Heck ... what are the perks of being family with Santa if you don't get to do stuff like fun selfies??

Joe Santa and yours truly

Ho! Ho! Ho! 9 days until Christmas .... but who's counting? Oh wait! WE ARE!!!