Pom Pom Hat

For weeks he’s been asking to see Santa at Bentleyville (our enormous local Christmas light display).  It wasn’t because he was particularly excited about seeing Santa, which is not really a big deal around here.  If you see Santa at Bentleyville, however, you receive a free hat.  Most specifically, a free hat with a giant pom pom on it, which apparently is all the rage in first grade.  And kindergarten.  And preschool.  And probably all the other grades too, up through fourth grade.  When you turn ten, you are too old for free hats.

We’ve never visited Santa at Bentleyville because it can literally be a two hour wait in line.  Or more.

Instead, if we visit Santa, we usually do it at our favorite, low key Christmas light display in another part of town, which is serene, majestic, peaceful, and generally not overly populated.

He’d been asking and asking, so when we visited Bentleyville last Friday (I only go once a year and we were taking a guest with us) I caved.  With a spring in his step he zipped right to the Santa line.

This was all MUCH to his sisters’ dismay.  They couldn’t BELIEVE I was letting him see Santa at Bentleyville.  It was cold.  They would be waiting in line, although the line was only about 40 minutes, and not two hours.  Worst of all, apparently they were scarred because their childhood did not include a visit to Santa at Bentleyvill, and therefore they never hat the RIGHT hat in school.  The entire 40 minutes we spent in line they railed on me!  How could I cave to consumerism? What was I thinking?  Their feet were cold.  Could they wear my mittens?  The agony! Letting Mr. TOF see Santa just to get a hat was utterly ridiculous.  Seriously unfair.  Why was I setting him up for popularity?  How could he develop a wise and prudent character if I let him have a hat just so he could be popular?  Why was I parenting like a grandparent, for goodness sake?

Truly, it was a discourse, debate and sermon all in one.

But my boy was positively bouncing like Tigger.  We stayed the course.  Stayed in line.

His visit with Santa was literally 10 seconds long.  (I do have a picture somewhere).  He didn’t care a bit, but he was so ecstatic about the hat.  They actually had run out of “this year’s hat” which apparently was supposed to be blue, but he didn’t care, because this hat had an even bigger pom pom, which was the whole point.  He has been wearing it pretty much nonstop.  He’s even been sleeping in this hat.