Santa Rant

We had good intentions of introducing Cecilia to Santa yesterday. We ventured out to Colorado Mills (along with the rest of the world). We did a little shopping on the way to Santa. When we got to Santa's "house" the line was long and the signs were many. Signs stating that visiting with Santa was free, but if you wanted to take a picture with your own camera, you would have to purchase their minimum photo package of $20 to do so. BA HUMBUG!!!! Well, little commercialized elves, Merry Christmas! We will not be participating in such ridiculousness. Since when did it cost so much money to get your picture with Santa, and in this economy?!?!? The Colorado Mills Mall charges an extra fee on every purchase at every store for "community improvements", or something like that. Shouldn't that cover the cost to have Santa at the mall for a few weeks? If I wanted to buy their pictures, then the photo they take should be better than the one that I can get from my camera, and the photo should be a reasonable amount (not $20 for 2 5x7's). After all, the kid behind the camera is probably only making minimum wage and his photography training probably goes no further than "press this button, and make sure the flash goes off". So, maybe this makes us bad parents. But I don't care. I can't afford to pay $20 for a photo with Santa, and frankly, Cecilia has nothing to say to the big guy, so a free visit is kind of pointless. I'd like to think that I am a better parent for not giving in to this racket. Even though Cecilia is too young to know or care about this decision, we have set a precedent for future years. So, alas there are no photos to post of Cecilia with Santa. There probably won't be this year. It is just another reminder of what this season is really about, and that JOY can not be found in a mall.

Merry Christmas