I’m one of those purists who laments the erosion of the Thanksgiving holiday by that ever-encroaching specter of Christmas, but this year, it was inevitable that my turkey dinner was flanked with presents, trees, and Santa Claus. We traveled to Pennsylvania to allow Little Boy to spend an entire week in the adoring glow of his maternal grandparents’ attention, since we will be spending Christmas proper in France. This year, it was okay to have Christmas come a little early for Little Boy, since until last weekend he had only an abstract notion of Christmas that was developed by a few books and repeated viewing of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (which is, oddly enough, one of Mr. P’s favorite English-language movies — those wacky French). Now, he has:
… met Santa Claus (in the King of Prussia mall… he was understandably shy at first when we put him in front of the massive red-clad bearded man seated on a couch in front of a 200-foot Xmas tree, until Santa leaned towards him and asked “Do you like toys?” Little Boy nodded. “Do you like trains?” Little Boy nodded again, looking a little surprised, like how did he know that? “Do you like cars?” Little Boy looked downright amazed, convinced this strange man was, indeed, magic. He willingly climbed onto his lap and posed for a photo.
… played with trains in front of the world’s biggest domestic snowman collection (at Grandpa and Grandma’s house)
… decorated a Christmas tree (at Nana and Pop-pop’s house)
…assisted in the catching of a 22 pound carp (at Nana and Pop-pop’s house… okay, not very Christmas-y, but neither was the 65 degree weather.)
… walked on the moon (at the Please Touch museum):
…. learned that turtles aren’t always cute and little (at the Philadelphia Zoo, with Grandpa):
…realized the raw potential of toy trains at the Brandywine River Museum:
And oh yes, Mommy and Daddy ran the Philadelphia Marathon! 26.2 miles of (mostly) fun. The best part was having so many alternate playmates for Little Boy while we recouped. Who can resist a handsome, spunky Little Boy in a suit?
