Ho! Ho! Ho!

Well, I've gone & gotten myself in a real pickle this time.

You see, we've got a trip planned to head to the North Pole very soon, all in hopes to catch Santa before he gets too busy this Christmas season. We'll stand in line with all the other Christmas crazed fools out there who simply desire to see that twinkle in their kiddo's eye & obtain that treasured keepsake photo of their little one plopped up on the lap Jolly Old St. Nick.

But by the looks of some of my friends' photos that are streaming through my facebook feed, I'm finding that this particular toddler age doesn't seem to be the most welcoming of Santa Claus. In fact, it seems that Jett's age group seems to be downright horrified by the sight of the jolly old fella. And while some of the photos I've seen are actually quite comical, I really would like to avoid the whole terrified, traumatized, sheer terror bit if at all possible. We're going for pleasant Christmas memories here, folks.

So I came up with a little plan--a simple one, really. It merely consisted of spending the week really talking this Santa guy up. Reminding Jett how nice Santa is, teaching Jett to bellow a jolly "Ho Ho Ho" just like the one that Santa Claus bellows on the eve of Christmas as he's flying high through the cold winter sky, & even searching out links like this one, where Santa himself sends a personalized video to your little one. {It's actually very cute. Santa told Jett how very proud he is that Jett is such a good boy & reminded our Meatball to brush his teeth before bedtime--something he's been giving us fits about lately. Jett just beamed each time he'd hear Santa say his name}. Everything was going according to my little plan. Jett caught on very quickly how to say "Ho Ho Ho" {although he always forgets the last Ho, so it's actually a "Ho Ho!". Whatever, it's still adorable.} He loved the personalized message video & would sit perfectly still as Santa spoke directly to him. And as far as I could see, he was loving dear old Santa Claus. Great, grand, wonderful!

Yeah, not so much. This is where my perfectly plotted plan backfires on me. Turns out, our little Jett Jett doesn't just like Santa. Oh no, our little Jett Jett has developed a full blown OBSESSION with Santa Claus. All day everyday he begs for "Ho Ho" {his name for Santa}. He points to the computer & pleads to watch the personalized video message from Santa, then proceeds to watch it over & over & over again until I think I might cry if I have to listen to it a single time more. He points out every "Ho Ho" decoration he sees in stores, on decorations, on signs--you name it, the kid can spot the red & white clad old guy from a mile away.

And if you think that's bad, take a look at this video. The kid literally melts into a puddle when he has to tell Santa good-bye:

{I do have to admit that I nearly melt right along with him. Bless his heart, he even tries to muster up a wave good-bye. So sad.}

And to think that I was actually concerned that my child might not want to sit on Santa's lap this year. Ha! I think the bigger worry is how in the heck I'm going to pry him off of that lap. Mercy me. Wish us luck. I think we're gonna need it.