Santa Visit and The Pink Pig

The Monday of the week of Thanksgiving, Doug and I met my parents at our local mall so Bri could visit with Santa Claus. I like to go see Santa super early to beat the December crowds. Bri was armed with her list and ready to tell Santa everything she desires...

After visiting with Santa, Doug, Bri and I along with my parents drove to another mall which is much further away to visit "Macy's Pink Pig." It is an Atlanta institution. I have never attempted to take Bri to see the Pink Pig at Macy's before, but I figured she is now at the perfect age to appreciate it...

For those that have seen the movie "A Christmas Story," you will understand what I am about to tell you. In the movie "A Christmas Story," Ralphie's parents drop him and his brother off in line at the department store to see Santa Claus. The line doesn't seem all that bad. That is until a parent waiting in the line snidely tells Ralphie the line actually starts all the way in the back of the store.

When we arrived at mall #2 around 11AM, we saw a very long line outside the Pink Pig tent. There wasn't anyone that worked there around to tell us what to do, so we stepped into line. We waited a few minutes and my dad decided to run into the mall for a minute since we had some time to kill. He came out and said, "Um, what is that big line inside the mall?" I told him that I had no idea. The lady in front of us said, "That is the line to buy the tickets. This is the line just to get into the tent." OOOHHHHH. No wonder we were getting dirty looks from the other parents in line. Doug decided to stay in line with Bri while my parents and I went into the mall to investigate. The line for the tickets alone was totally insane. I called Doug on his cell and said to get out of line because I wouldn't be done buying tickets by the time he got to the tent door. Bri wasn't happy to say the least. Doug, my dad and Briana went to visit the Apple Store while my mom and I waited to buy the tickets. I almost thought about giving up. But, I knew I wasn't getting back to that mall anytime soon and we had already made the trip, so we stuck it out.

(Scenes from "A Christmas Story")...

After an hour plus wait, we finally made it into the Pepto Bismol colored tent. The ride was very short and cute (thank goodness we bought tickets to go around twice). To me personally, I don't think it was worth an hour plus wait - BUT, Briana totally did. She loved every second of it and that is what counts...

 

After enduring the long wait, we were all really hungry, so we headed off the food court - Briana on Daddy's shoulders and her new stuffed pig on hers...

Despite the wait, the visit with Santa and riding the Pink Pig were a great kick off to the Christmas season!