TELL SANTA EVERYTHING!

How often in your lifetime have you seen kids thrust into the lap of a department store/mall Santa only to see the kid go ballistic? All those times they've been told NOT to talk to strangers and now they're being told to tell this strange looking man EVERYTHING!

For many their first encounter with the jolly old man is less than jolly. I was fortunate because I was mesmerized. I have a photo of myself in a snowsuit sitting on Santa's lap. My mouth is open in awe and I'm staring at him. Love at first site. Not so for these kids.

You can almost hear the high pitched scream emanating from the one boy, irritating every person in the store, and making the other kids in line very very nervous. And the other boy just keeps repeating, "No! NO! NOOOOOO!" while being forced into Santa's face. I imagine he too was soon screaming at the top of his lungs. Did they need therapy after this? Were they handed a candy cane that they sucked on amidst their salty tears? Did their parents tell the Santa encounter story for years to come to all who would listen? All the adults smiling and laughing while the kids were flashing back on their holiday nightmare? I don't know. Like I said, I was in awe of Santa.

Have any good memories of meeting Santa? Do tell. Have a vernacular photo of your encounter? Do share.