On the thirteenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me – Mall Santas
It’s a yearly pilgrimage for children to trudge through the snow and slush to deliver Christmas wishes to Santa Claus. In malls around the country, men don the read velvet suit and sit on the red velvet chair so little ones can sit on their lap and whisper their dreams for Christmas morning. Each and every parent silently hopes that the man on that red throne will make the visit a good memory for their child…because if the man in the suit isn’t into it, there are going to be tears.
A visit to the mall Santa is what begins the story in Candy Canes & Coffee Beans. Sawyer Grant has an urgent need to talk to St. Nick, so he drags his Uncle Killy and his bestest friend Boo to the mall. And as any Christmas expert can agree, a Santa is only as good as his front line elf. When Sawyer gets to the front of the Santa line, this is where the story begins.
A child’s first introduction to Santa can be a bit dicey. A big man in a bright red suit letting out booming ho ho ho’s can be pretty scary to the little folk. We were lucky, as the minion was only three weeks old when he first visited Santa on his throne. Needless to say he doesn’t remember it. I had gone early on a Sunday morning, and there was no one in line. The lovely ladies who ran Santa’s shop had so much fun moving and posing both the minion and Santa to make his first Christmas picture just perfect. The Santa that year was a young man with a fake beard, and I’m sure the poor guy had never held a baby that young. But oh what a memory that was for the momma!
The minion missed the next Christmas, as I knew there was no way in hell my one year old would agree to sit upon a stranger’s knee, let alone one with so much Christmas bling, so he was two the next time he saw Santa. I knew if we didn’t tread carefully he’d freak and he’d be fifteen before he’d go near the castle again. For probably three weeks, the minion and I would visit the mall, each time going closer and closer to the castle. Soon, I’d take him out of his stroller and let him watch on the other side of the little white fence that ran around the display. We waited in line once, only to wave at Santa, then walk away. Eventually we made it right up to the man in the bright red suit. And oh what a wonderful Santa he was! There was no push to get my little one on his knee; he held out a candy cane and asked the minion if he’d like to see a magic trick. Santa coaxed him closed enough to show him how to magically a candy cane in his hands. And that’s when we got our shot.
And it’s this trick Asher tells his scared little visitors to ask Santa about.
Until tomorrow all!
Saxon
Candy Canes & Coffee Beans is now available for pre-order at Amazon.com or AllRomanceeBooks.com