Just curious where ya'll take the kids to see Santa or went when you were a kid. I used to go to "The Real Santa" that Miller & Rhoads had in Richmond and loved it. But thats been closed for years. Want to take the kids out to see a good Santa and so far the only options I have are Southpark Mall in Colonial Heights, which has a bear orchestra and train, or going to the Yankee Candle Store in Williamsburg that has a massive Christmas area to make candles, have it snow, meet Santa, etc and ride the ferry over and back.

So is there any good Santas in the Raleigh area or elsewhere in Central/Eastern NC or VA?

12/20/2008 11:22:09 PM

Does anyone else not find this tradition disturbing?

12/20/2008 11:50:49 PM

i honestly have no recollection of ever going to a santa as a child

12/21/2008 12:01:34 AM

i, too, am disturbed by the idea of lying to our children about a strange elf man who sneaks into our houses. why can't your parents just buy you gifts. what purpose does this lie serve?

bah humbug

12/21/2008 12:11:04 AM

sorry

[Edited on December 21, 2008 at 12:14 AM. Reason : oops]

12/21/2008 12:13:22 AM

Quote :

"Just curious where ya'll take the kids to see Santa "

umm the toilet?

12/21/2008 1:06:25 AM

Quote :

"Does anyone else not find this tradition disturbing?"

Quote :

"i, too, am disturbed by the idea of lying to our children about a strange elf man who sneaks into our houses. why can't your parents just buy you gifts. what purpose does this lie serve? bah humbug"

Quit being weirdos and let the guy's kids have a happy Christmas.

12/21/2008 2:01:45 AM

why is santa necessary for a happy christmas?

12/21/2008 2:27:53 AM

the "real santa" in richmond was the one that always knew your name right? if so that one was the best.

12/21/2008 2:32:33 AM

^Fucks yes, that was cool stuff.

And I don't HAVE to take them to it. I knew from an early age that Santa wasn't real and the birth of Jesus was the true celebration of Christmas. But I have very fond memories of going to see Santa in Richmond and enjoyed it quite a bit. Sorry if your too cool to tell you kids about Santa, but I would like them to have good memories from Christmas when they are older too. Seeing some cheap ass mall Santa and getting a Polaroid for $20 with him is not quite the same thing as going to more professional Santa.

12/21/2008 9:08:35 AM

I find it disturbing that parents so readily will have their kids sit on a strangers lap, but preach to them to never talk to strangers. I'm sure there are plenty of pedophile Santas out there.

12/21/2008 9:34:31 AM

It's not the pedophilia aspect, only. It's the fact that kids are supposed to get enjoyment out of interacting with someone they don't know very well. Most of these kids look scared as shit the first time parents force them to sit on this dude's lap.


After that, there's the question of whether the whole santa concept has any value. There are a billion other ways you can do something fun with your kids, right?

[Edited on December 21, 2008 at 12:01 PM. Reason : .]

12/21/2008 11:58:16 AM

double post like whoah.

[Edited on December 21, 2008 at 7:33 PM. Reason : l]

12/21/2008 7:31:14 PM

I see now who will be the parents of those dysfunctional kids that everyone picks on because they can't relate to their peers.

This is why we can't have nice things...

12/21/2008 7:32:30 PM

i used to go to the one at south hills because they had live reindeer also

12/21/2008 8:52:21 PM

The dude at Cary Town Center is pretty decent. Fits the bill. Old, real beard.

Quote :

"why can't your parents just buy you gifts. what purpose does this lie serve?"

Tradition. And from a kid's perspective it's double loot since you've got to get something from Santa and your parents.

12/21/2008 9:04:50 PM

it makes kids behave. if they still believe in santa, they believe he's always watching them. they know you're not always watching; but they might not be able to get away with things if santa's watching.

12/21/2008 9:41:54 PM

Quote :

"Santa's"

sorry, i had to

12/21/2008 10:36:01 PM

I agree with BDubLS1 in that South Hills is good with the live reindeer. When I was younger that was where my Mom used to take me and I enjoyed getting to see the reindeer and the Santa was normally a pretty good one. Crabtree Mall used to be good if I remember, but this time of year I pretty much try to steer clear of the malls if possible, good luck with it and I agree that it's a great tradition to do with your kids to try to keep them good this time of year.

12/21/2008 10:51:34 PM

We ended up rolling to Williamsburg and hit the Yankee Candle flagship store. It was a hella nice store, and the Santa thing wasn't nearly as big a deal there. They have a nice Christmas area, and the boys made some candles for the grandparents and we ate lunch there. They also loved the ferry ride over and back. Overall a nice day trip. Would have enjoyed a live reindeer, and I'll have to remember that for next year.

12/21/2008 11:00:38 PM

Santa's what?

12/22/2008 12:18:02 AM

Santa's what?

12/22/2008 8:13:46 AM

Thrift Store

12/22/2008 10:51:15 AM

My father-in-law's mother told her kids that Santa wasn't real from the start. Then one day one of her kids told his classmates and their parents all got pissed and made angry phone calls. So I guess if you choose not to do the Santa thing, at least tell your kids to keep their traps shut about it.

I guess people carry on the tradition because they remember it being fun and exciting when they were little. I loved going downstairs at probably 7AM and seeing what "Santa" had left. But what about the huge let-down when you learn the truth? I dunno, maybe it teaches kids how to separate fantasy from reality or something.

12/22/2008 2:12:35 PM

It teaches you to believe in the supernatural.

12/22/2008 4:41:52 PM

I enjoyed it as a kid. I remember getting excited over santa and talking about santa and the reindeer and all that jazz with my little sister on Christmas eves and all. Eventually I found out and perhaps I was sad at the time but if I was I don't remember it bothering me. However, as I've stated I do remember the fun and good times that came from it. It was something very fun for me as a child and I don't feel that it has had any negative impact on me heh.

Certainly everyone can do what they want with their own kids but based on my sister and I's positive experience with Santa as kids I see no reason not to carry on the tradition with my kids.

Quote :

"It teaches you to believe in the supernatural."

I'm pretty sure that most of the ages that kids are that believe in Santa are young enough to not be influenced that why by it if you are that worried about it. I believed in Santa as a child and it probably wasn't long after I stopped believing that I was really into Treasure Island and my dad read me the Hobbit etc. and although I LOVED that stuff I did understand that it wasn't real. If anything it teaches you the excitement of an imagination.

[Edited on December 22, 2008 at 4:57 PM. Reason : ]

12/22/2008 4:48:08 PM

The best santa I ever met was just chilling by himself on a bench at the Cotton Exchange in Wilmington eating some chocolates from the candy shop there. He wasn't on a throne or anything so it made it much cooler, even though I was like 17. Real beard, real fat, real jolly. Dude was awesome.

12/23/2008 6:21:24 PM

^^word man. It's part of the spirit of the season, and I like to think that being brought up with Santa and the christian christmas celebration has instilled in me a sense of wanting to give and being happy with making other peoples' lives happier/better.

12/24/2008 8:46:23 AM

Hehe, my nephew's Santa picture this year had him screaming at the top of his lungs and Santa looks constipated.

12/25/2008 10:44:53 PM

Santa is a nonsensical, pointless lie. Is it any wonder that children don't trust adults? They're constantly lied to from day one. How about a bit of honesty?

12/26/2008 12:00:35 AM

^

12/26/2008 12:08:04 AM

^^ doesnt seem to have affected me negatively or most the people i know. im sorry you had a bad experience and dont trust your parents...

12/26/2008 11:18:15 AM