Beeper Santa

I was at the Taj MaMall today (yes, again) and saw that familiar sight this time of year…Santa in center court. There he was in all his glory…red suit, boots, beard and cap… “Santa, you haven’t changed a bit. You’re still an old guy…and you still have that enormous beer belly.” Kids wait to sit on Santa’s lap and give him their laundry list of every toy they just have to have…until they have it! But something seems amiss…

Santa was there with little Johnny sitting on his lap…but…but… where was the huge line that would snake from Abercrombie to Sears and back around again? Are kids snubbing Santa ‘cause he didn’t come through last year…or do they visit a virtual Santa online and email their list…

Then I took a closer look and it all made sense…Santa’s elves were giving out beepers so you don’t have to stand in line with your little angels. Beepers! Oh, come on…now that just isn’t fair! I remember having to deal with fussing kids, kids running around, and the total chaos that went with the 2 hour wait in line…And just as we were inches from Santa’s lap hearing, “ I don’t want to see Santa now…can we go home?” “Oh honey, yes you do…Remember, you want to see Santa…you’ve asked to see him every minute since Thanksgiving and since we are here… you are going to talk to Santa, smile for the picture and love every single minute of it!”

So life just got a little easier when it comes to visiting St. Nick, you can grab the beeper, do some shopping, take your kids to the restroom for the tenth time in an hour, and even take a nap in the lounge area. But for some reason it just doesn’t seem right. I just feel like moms (and dads) are missing out…that their fun has been taken away…you know…the fun of misbehaving children, kids crying, threats to your kids…

The photo with Santa will definitely be different…now photos will be taken of children with happy faces, wearing hair bows that haven’t been ripped out, holiday outfits still intact…and no missing shoes or binkys. Now that just doesn’t seem fair to these parents…they are missing out on an important memory. But more importantly, why didn’t we think of that???