Phoebe’s First Christmas, 2005


Banish those memories of Bad Santas Past. The real Santa is hanging out at Barton Creek Mall. This Santa is so authentic-looking, I’ve refused to take Phoebe anywhere else for the past 4 Christmases when it came time for Pics with Nick. His beard’s real, his bowl-full-of-jelly is (presumably) real, and his costume is finely detailed. I don’t care how old you are, you will have visions of sugarplums dancing in your head after a brief encounter with this Santa.

The Real Santa is the only Santa you’ll see at Barton Creek Mall this year, so you don’t have to beg the staff for his schedule like I’ve done in years past. (I’m not obsessive…I prefer to think of myself as detail-oriented.) Although I feel for the poor guy sitting there all day every day with Sore Smile Syndrome, I do appreciate the fact that I don’t have to drum up some explanation for Phoebe as to why Santa looks different every time we see him.