The Northpark Santa Saga – Year 4

For three years now, Nolan and Melanie have visited Santa at Northpark without me. This year, I decided to take the day off to see the spectacle for myself. The original plan was to spend the morning at Northpark and have the afternoon free to finish up decorating for Christmas. That was the plan at least. We decided it would be best for Nolan and I to head down to Northpark early to get our number as soon as possible – Melanie and Griffin would head down when we were about an hour away from our number being called. In theory it was a good plan. In theory, we could get it all done by noon.

I grabbed Nolan and headed for the door just after 8:30am. He was in a good mood and seemed excited to see Santa. We were running late, but I thought we’d be ok because rush hour would be over by the time we got to 75. Three traffic jams and and hour later, we finally arrived at Northpark. It was just before 10am. Maybe we’d still be make it out by noon. We breezed through Nordstrom and made our way to Santa’s temporarily leased retail space Village, which is located directly across from the Apple Store.

We waited our turn and quickly got our number. We were #55. It was just before 10am and we had to wait until at least 11:30am before we might be called. This left Nolan and I with nearly two hours to kill in one of the only malls in Dallas without a playground.

Fortunately, Northpark has a toy train exhibit that kept Nolan occupied for a little while. It was just after 10am. We found the train exhibit and there wasn’t a line. For a moment, it seemed like our luck was finally changing. We bought tickets and headed for the entrance. At the same time, a rowdy herd of about 30-40 kids on a field trip appeared out of nowhere and crowded the door. Nolan was as confused as I was about where this gaggle of screaming, shoving kids came from, but we waited patiently for our turn to look at the trains.

Now I’m not going to say that I didn’t like the Trains at Northpark. It was a neat exhibit and Nolan enjoyed it. I do, however, wish to impress upon you the claustrophobic nightmare that is the interior of the Trains at Northpark. Imagine being on a plane with a screaming child or two seated next to you. Now, imagine if 85% of the passengers on the plane are screaming children and they are running up and down the aisle of the plane. That’s the best description I can provide of what it’s like to be inside the Trains at Northpark with that many people.

After the trains, we still had some time to kill, so we headed for the duck pools. This is a place that I can only assume is meant as a place for peaceful reflection. In reality, it’s the place where kids of all ages run at full speed up the ramp-shaped planters surrounding the pools. Nolan loves this spot.

At long last, Melanie and Judy arrived with Griffin as we reached the home stretch of the wait to see Santa. In his defense, Nolan was holding up better than I was at this point. In my defense, only one of us is aware that Santa isn’t real – not even the Northpark Santa. I was just about to reach the point where any old Santa would do. In fact, the bearded panhandler we saw on the way in to the mall would probably get the job done with little or no wait for half the price. I briefly considered mentioning other mall Santas we might try, but thought the better of it. Tradition is tradition after all, and the line to see Santa had already reached #27. Progress.

For those keeping score at home, we’re now 3 traffic jams, 3 hours, and 2 lines into this – ahem – fun family tradition. Eventually our number was called and we took our spot in the on deck circle to meet Santa. Nolan was reaching his boiling point, but like Ralphie in A Christmas Story, his desire for the Christmas gift trumped all else and he kept his cool all the way until the end.

Finally, the moment arrived. Both boys got to sit with Santa and both of them did really well. Santa asked Nolan what he wanted for Christmas and Nolan – instead of crying – looked Santa in the eye and carefully worded his reply. “I want a Wader Park Tower and Optimus Prime,” he told Santa. Suddenly, the whole crazy ordeal was worth every minute.

When Nolan is older and no longer feels comfortable sitting in the lap of a bearded stranger, I won’t remember the lines and the crowds from this day. I might not even remember the specific toys he wanted. But I will always remember the year when Nolan actually put all the pieces together and told Santa what he wanted for Christmas.