PractiGal: Santa needs his caffeine too

The questions started as soon as we pulled into the parking lot.

"But where is his sleigh? WHERE? Where!!!"

Well, maybe it's on the roof.

"But WHERE?"

... or maybe he parks in a super-secret spot, where no one can crash into it!

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Santa's at the mall from 10am-9pm; we arrived around 10:15a.m. I really don't like going to malls anymore, but I figured it was my duty to take my son to see Santa. We missed out on some non-mall opportunities (breakfasts with Santa, etc), so I figured if we got to the mall at opening bell it wouldn't be too bad. I called ahead to find out what entrance would be closest to Santa. Easy-in, easy-out. That was the plan. I parked by Sears.

We quickly found Santa's throne. And it was empty.

Empty.

At 10:20a.m. But we spotted him walking away from his post. Time for a break, 20 minutes into his shift? What kind of Santa's that?

So we followed him, as did a couple of other little ones and their Mom. I've never Santa-stalked before, but you do what you have to do. When we caught up to him, my little guy was beyond excited, but hesitant to talk to the man in red. Finally he managed a "hi!" to which Santa responded cheerfully, "hi there!"

I thought my little boy was going to jump out of his skin. He turned to me, bursting with delight. "Oh, I'm so happy! I met Santa! He said Hi to ME!"

I wasn't ready to walk away though. Armed with my digital camera, I started snapping, left and right, because that's what you do when you're a Santa-stalker (I learn quickly). Santa was more than willing to accommodate too. $25 portrait package be-damned. He bent over and picked up my son, allowing me to snap at will. For free. Clearly, Santa doesn't work on commission. After our closing "Merry Christmas," the official Santa photographer chased him down, informing him that there was a line of people waiting for pictures with Santa. He headed over to Mrs. Fields for his morning cuppa. My son insisted he was getting coffee, because he's a man, and men drink coffee, but ladies drink tea.

Actually, he got a soda today...