“What store were you in today?” Daddy asked at the dinner table. Since a special “Santa House” is built for the holidays (and they were so busy enjoying being downtown with their sweet Grammy) the kids didn’t realize they were even near a store when visiting Santa. When I answered “Nordstrom,” Sara perked right up and asked, “da North Pole?!” Come to think of it, those names do have a similar ring to them. It’s our third year making the trek into Seattle to visit the jolly old guy at the flagship Nordstrom store and I have to say that even though the line was long, we’ll keep going back because Nordstrom pulls off a mini North Pole experience beautifully.
Something new for us this year was getting a phone call when our turn came around. Leave it to Nordstrom to think of something like this instead of making us wait in the cold for more than an hour. Once we finished our hot cocoa and lattes across the street and received the call that it was our turn, friendly “elf” employees offered apple cider and cookies while we waited. Unlike many mall setups, parents are invited to take photographs of the kids with Santa in addition to the professional photographer selling packages there. The dear Nordstrom Santa greets every child by name and takes his time visiting with each one, gently asking questions and listening to all their requests. We also witnessed the very patient photographer pull a crying 1 year old out of a complete tizzy by pretending to sneeze and making a beanie baby fall off her head each time (I’ll have to try that one at home sometime). The whole experience was a pleasure.
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| Telling Santa "I want YOU to surprise me" |
Seeing Santa then heading to the carousel and either the Sheraton for Gingerbread Houses or The Fairmont for the Teddy Bear Suite has become a beloved tradition for us with Grammy.
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| Stopping to read a book in the sumptuous Teddy Bear Suite at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel (we wandered around a bit and showed the kids the room where their Daddy and I were married too) |
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| After our carousel ride |
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