Bentleyville

Bentleyville, a massive, crowded Christmas light display that is an annual tradition here, is not always my favorite, but this year I brought four hopping kidlets who were happy to be there, eat snacks, and have a great time. (The Devious Snail elected to stay home). We went the day before Christmas Eve, and while there was no shortage of people, it also wasn’t absolutely packed either. The weather was also cooperating, which made for a pleasant walk.

The kidlets were all about stopping for every snack: cookies, cocoa, marshmallows, popcorn, the works.

The line to visit Mrs. Claus was not very long (unlike the Santa line), so we decided to wait to see her. She was a lovely lady, really having fun with her job. In fact, she was downright hilarious. The four of them sat down and I started taking pictures. “Are you all from the same family?” They nodded. “And how is that going for you right now?” Ummm? “I hope there has been no hitting, no kicking, no punching, no pinching, no hair pulling, no name calling . . . ”

I was cracking up! Because of course there is sibling drama of every kind every moment of every day this time of year.

“And what are you hoping to receive for Christmas?” she asked.

The first child said he wasn’t sure. The next child mentioned that she really wanted a pair of hoop earrings. The third child stated that she would like a million dollars!

“Oh honey, I think you need to bring that back down to reality,” said Mrs. Claus, as she gave her a little pat on the leg.

Visiting Mrs. Claus made the trip to Bentleyville worth it, even if I was persuaded to go through the awful gift shop before we left, which was so crowded and miserable that it nearly gave me a panic attack. (YaYa had horded a birthday coupon from years ago stating that I would purchase for her a Bentleyville hat that she missed out in her childhood.)