Santa and Sickness Don't Mix

We got tickets for "Cookies and Caroling" at the Museum of Play this year. They open the museum in the evening and put on a little show for the kids. It wasn't really the best night for us to attend, but the tickets are non-refundable, so we decided to go. We have had a lot of sickness in our home lately, and Jack was feeling especially sick and very tired. 

The kids got some snacks and played around a bit, and then we got in line to see Santa. It took an hour and a half to get to the front of the line. It was a little crazy, but after waiting for the first 45 minutes, it seemed wasteful to just leave, so we stuck it out. The kids didn't wait in the line the whole time, though- they were able to go play while either Mom or Dad stayed in line. 

Frosty the snowman was wandering around the museum and Callie loved him. She was so excited to talk to him and hug him. This picture was taken about one minute before we got to see Santa...

Fast forward that one minute and Callie is in tears, Ryan is hysterical, and Jack is half asleep. 

All we could do was laugh at the situation. After waiting so long to see Santa, no one would even get near him. Callie had decided to sit on the floor right before we walked up to Santa, and got kicked in the head (accidentally) by Mom, so she was very upset and did not want to talk to Santa. Then as soon as Ryan saw this big fluffy beard with eyes leaning toward him, he broke into tears and tried to turn away. Jack was just so oblivious to everything he could barely tell Santa his name. 

We got out of there quickly, drove home and got the kids straight to bed- even skipping bath time, which is highly unusual. It was not the best experience, but at least we tried! We thought maybe our next experience with Santa would go better.

A few days later we attended a Christmas party at church. It was early in the evening and the kids seemed pretty happy, so we had high hopes for the night. The theme was "Christmas Carnival," so there were a lot of games set up around the gym. Jack visited the face painting booth, and chose to get a wreath on his hand. 

Callie decorated a cookie and then sat down to eat it. Those two events were pretty much all that happened at the party. Jack's day had consisted of a doctor's appointment in the morning, watching a play with Dad in the afternoon, then a quick dinner and off to a party. It was too much for him, apparently. Jack had a total meltdown and we had to head home. Poor guy. He definitely has not been himself lately because of illness and lack of sleep. 

Santa was there, waiting in the corner for kids to take pictures with him. But, alas, we did not get the chance. Yet again. Maybe next year, Santa!