For Him Or For Me: Macy's Santaland

I find myself giddy with excitement over the prospect of instilling in my son the same holiday cheer I always felt as a child, particularly around Christmas. In fact, I think experiencing the delight of a holiday through a child's eye may be the ultimate icing on the cake. So, it was with great anticipation and nostalgia that I took le petit prince to Macy's Santaland. Mind you, I didn't visit Santa at Macy's as a young child; my cousin took me to see Santa when I was an older child and, by then, totally onto Santa's identity, but I totally understand her excitement at being able to grant and share with me the experience. I had to go to Macy's anyway to buy my son new shoes and a coat, so I figured, without too much fanfare, that we may as well go and see Santa.

We were greeted by a woman in elf clothing inviting us to enter Santaland. My son seemed game enough; he was so thrilled with his new sneaks and practically leaping with every step while simultaneously looking down to admire his feet. We went up a ramp that led into a train coach car which then exited into the "North Pole". My son did not appreciate the animatronic penguins swaying in the winter scene. It freaked him out, to be exact. And he began to whine in recoil and pull me back towards the exit. And I thought to myself that I didn't want to force him to have this experience if it really freaked him out, he's not even two years old yet, he doesn't really know who Santa is. But at the same time, I wanted to let him know that he didn't have to be afraid either of this new experience, so I decided to coax him into seeing the polar bears on the other side of the display. He loved the polar bears, but overall, he wasn't really into being in this dim, enclosed walkway with weird animatronic winter animals. We kept moving forward, past the cool train set displays, past the photo op station, past the toy displays - which meant leaving the polar bears, which meant a mini melt-down in Santaland, with hopeful Santa visitors backed up behind us waiting to get past us. It was all about the polar bears for my son, he could care less about Santa. Somehow I persisted, encouraging my son to "ooh, look at the bears, look at the toy soldiers" etc., and again, I wondered if I was destroying the whole Santa experience for my son forever. By the time we made it to Santa (surprisingly quickly), we were escorted to a private room where a smallish Santa was seated with two "elves" standing by to capture that special moment on film. Well, le petit prince, as I suspected, was not about to sit on Santa's lap! He wasn't crying or anything, but he wasn't about to let go of my neck anytime soon. So I sat down next to Santa (I should have sat on his lap!) and placed le petit prince on my lap, but he wouldn't turn around to take the picture. So Santa and I decided that we should just probably try next year. I stood up to leave, and Santa asked my son for a high-five, which he was happy to give. I told the "elves" that they should get a picture of my son high-fiving Santa, and they eagerly took two shots. Then we left, photo ticket in hand, to check out the photos. Well, in the end, you could barely see my son, partly because my big head is in the way, partly because he is in profile, and partly because he has taken lately to wearing his brimmed hat way down over his eyes (I know people on the street think I purposely put the hat on him like that, the nerve!). Add to that the price of a whopping $18.99 per photo - I opted OUT of buying a photo. Plus, le petit prince was now crying because he wanted to see the polar bears again.

My son's favorite Santaland denizen: the Polar Bear

Watching an animatronic polar bear spin on his back on the ice.

The antidote to the polar bear melt-down turned out to be a Mayan Chicken Rice Bowl at Au Bon Pain, located conveniently across from the Santaland entrance. And I have to say, this was my favorite part of the whole Macy's visit (apart from my son watching his feet as he walked in his new sneakers). It was a job ordering and self-serving with a crying, pulling boy in one hand and pushing a stroller with my elbows through a hungry shopping lunch crowd. But once I got us to a table, I sat him down and plated him up and he looked at me and nodded slowly at me, like we were comrades-in-arms ready for our shared mission of demolishing some good eats, together. And I realized this moment was what it (the big IT) is all about, just being with my son, relishing this close and special mother and son bond. The lunch was tasty. And my son was so adorable. After lunch, I somehow convinced him to get back in the stroller, and he was fast asleep before I made it to the subway 2 blocks away. Good times!

Lunchtime!

Digging in and digging the rice.

The verdict: YUM!