Santa and Sculptures and Vomit (Oh, my!)

This part was good. The ice sculptures looked great in our town square.

I didn't know that a Festival experience could be so bad yet somehow it was. For the past three years, our town has held a Christmas festival. You may remember the great fun from this , this, or even this post. This year's billing promised great fun: Free pictures with Santa, a parade, live reindeer, free horse drawn carriage rides, turkey bowling, choirs singing. All of the exciting events from last year and more. The family was stoked.

This year...not so much fun was had. They changed up the parade route (not a big deal but we had staked out the perfect spot for the previous year's route). There was much candy tossed from the parade participants (always a plus--who doesn't like candy tossed at a parade??). The parade started at about 12 or 12:05 and last maybe 15 minutes culminating with the big guy himself making an appearance on a fire truck. Good times, right? Here's where it went horribly wrong.

The program said that they would be doing pictures with Santa starting at 1. Seeing as they finished the parade at about 20 after 12, surely they wouldn't make the kids wait outside in 25 degree cold, right?

Oh, surely they would and surely they did.

There he is!! There he is!!

We can see you in there Santa. Why won't you let us in??

Now I wouldn't have minded a 10-15 minute wait. I can understand that Santa may need to get off the truck, go inside, freshen up, go to the bathroom, get set up, etc. Do you know how not cool it is to let a huge group of kids watch Santa get off the firetruck, go into the bank, and then make them wait 40 minutes in 25 degree weather to see him? NOT COOL AT ALL. You're probably saying to yourself "Why not just leave and go home?" Do you know how hard it is to tell a child that although you have written a letter to Santa and can see him in the window of the bank, you're not staying to see him? We tried to convince the kids a few times to go home because it was too cold and it was too long of a wait. There were many tears shed that day and not just from my kids.

At about 5 after 1, the bank opened their doors. We got in there and as Robin lifted Chase out of his stroller, he projectile vomited all over her and the carpet at the bank. I try not to diss on a free service like having Santa there and getting your picture taken with him because it is a nice thing for the bank to do. Would it have killed them to open up the bank early to get people out of the cold? Call me an idealist but I'm going to go with no.

What about the reindeer and the horse drawn carriage rides, you say? They didn't come until 2 and 4, respectively. The worst part about the entire thing was that our town missed a golden opportunity to drum up some Christmas business for local merchants by making the events in more of a rapid succession to encourage people to stay, shop around, and just have a good time. Last year when I drove through town during the Festival, there were lots of people just walking around, hanging out, and just having a good time. This year I came through in what was supposed to be the middle of the festival and saw maybe 50 people. What were those 50 people doing you ask? They were standing and watching what I'm assuming were their children in their little church choir.

It was a memory. Can't say it was a good one but it was a memory, for sure. What a disapointment.