Let's have some fun now, before I melt away.

This year I’m truly enjoying the holiday spirit thanks to Master Noah. He’s so excited – and not because he’s getting gifts – but because of the magic of Christmas, the traditions, the music, the lights, the stories. We’ve been reading tons of Christmas books, listening to carols, watching the Nutcracker ballet and opening an advent calendar door each day. On Sunday night the three of us went to City Hall and Rittenhouse Square to see the trees and lights – and Noah was really excited, though he was a bit disappointed because he thought Santa would be at the tree. (Though honestly – limiting a two year old to one piece of chocolate a day is not easy. We have at least one meltdown a day because he wants to open another “Santa door.”) (Oh and said Nutcracker tape from the library is now stuck in our VCR, and yet not playable. On the plus side I was able to DVR the ballet on PBS last night so now Noah can watch it again, on the negative side I might be returning my VCR to the library.)

This morning I mentioned the idea of going downtown to see Santa. Noah, still in his pahjamas, said “I go upstairs to get my shoes. Be right back.” Needless to say we hustled out of the house. I was a bit apprehensive about how Noah would handle sitting on Santa’s lap, but as always he shocked me. It also helped that, surprisingly, The Gallery Santa rocks. Not only does he have the real deal hair, but since there was no line he told me “Let him approach slowly and talk a little bit so he gets comfortable.” It worked like a charm. When Santa finally asked if he wanted to sit on his lap and tell him his Christmas wish Noah said yes. Of course he blurted out “Trolley-Choo choo-bus” before he was even on his knee. Noah was feeling a bit too cautious to give an outright smile, but we did get a bit of a grin, and afterwards he kept talking about how nice Santa was. It was sweet.

Next we headed to see the train display at Reading Terminal (small and LAME) and then to Macys. After checking out the cool window displays, we went to see the weird ancient animatronic Dickens Christmas Village. I told Noah they were puppets so he thought they were pretty cool. At the end they take you in to see “Father Christmas” who was literally like a twenty something kid with lots of fake white hair, a feigned English accent and lots of rouge. AWFUL. We just went right through. Then we found a spot on the floor of the shoe department to wait for the light show to begin. When it was over Noah wanted to see it again – and didn’t take kindly to me saying they weren’t going to repeat it. So when he asked to see the puppets again – off we went for the second go around. And then we walked to the Bourse where we sat at a cafe table and shared a salad before getting back on the El.

The whole time we were out I was struck by two things. First, WOW he’s being so good. He really is such a sweet and special little man. I am truly blessed to have such an obedient and thoughtful child. I am constantly flabbergasted by it. And second, THIS is what Christmas is about. It’s not about what is under the tree. It’s about the wonder, the magic, the mystery. It’s about doing special things with your loved ones. About making memories and keeping traditions. God, I’m really loving this Christmas already.

Now if only someone else would do my damn shopping.